The Perla Del Cafe micro-mill in Costa Rica's West Valley sits at the top of a ridge overlooking the town of Naranjo, and has consistently produced some of Costa Rica's most exemplary coffees over the past decade. At around 1600 metres above sea level this is not the highest farm in Costa Rica, but year in year out Calos Barrantes continues to produce stylish and delicious coffees. The mill's 17 hectares is split into a number of smaller farms to manage micro-lots and quality over the season. This micro-lot comes from La Casita, a plot sitting right next to the family home. La Casita has a number of cultivars sitting side by side and we've brought a Villa Sarchi this year, the most planted cultivar in the block. The coffee, like the majority of Perla Del Cafe's coffee, is processed by the yellow honey method. Carlos's spacious parabolic drying system makes sure the coffee dries in a controlled and consistent environment over ten to fifteen days. This control retains the sugar stability in the green coffee, giving Artisan Roast an exceptional raw product to work with in the roastery. In this seasons Villa Sarchi microlot the sweetness is crammed full of dense and creamy toffee notes. Depending on the brew method there are then slight variations in the fruit like flavours present. Brewed as a filter the flavours are more towards ripe mandarin orange, dried dates and papaya with a medium intensity zesty acidity. Moving towards aeropress and espresso look for subtle hints of milk chocolate, vanilla and red berries as well.