Allan Oviedo is a second generation coffee producer, inheriting his land from his father Joel Oviedo around 20 years ago. Joel’s land was split in two, with half going to Allan, and half to his brother, Allan’s uncle. Initially, he was selling coffee cherry to a local mill, receiving a very low market price. This meant he had to take shifts as a taxi driver in San Jose to make ends meet, saving money to reinvest into the farm. Allan made many changes on the farm, aiming to improve quality of life for his family. Like many in Costa Rica during this time, Allan’s aim was to process his own coffee, constructing a micromill. He eventually accomplished this, naming his mill for his father, Don Joel. Allan has heavily invested in quality since, winning several awards in the Costa Rican Cup of Excellence, including a 29th place in 2017, 18th in 2021, 15th in 2022, and a 25th in this year’s competition. This year’s placing was with a washed SL28 varietal, the same as the lot we are releasing now. This success has allowed Allan to continue to invest, even purchasing the rest of his father’s land back from his uncle and planting more Villa Sarchi, Typica and SL28. Allan’s continuing success is a testament to his methodic and detail-focussed approach, allowing him to continue to increase the quality of the coffee he produces, as seen in his consistent placings in the Cup of Excellence. This year, many of Allan’s lots ended top of our rounds of cupping together with our partners from Exclusive Coffees in Costa Rica. We met and cupped together with Allan and his family at the Exclusive lab in San José, and were impressed by his professionalism, and of course by the quality of the coffees. This lot, a washed process SL28 varietal, stood out for its rich sweetness and depth of flavour, lifted by a crisp and juicy acidity. The flavours we find are driven by the varietal, reminiscent of the Kenyan profile, with crisp red berries and a molasses sweetness.