4 - La Isabela - Costa Rica 2026 (Experimental)

#4 — La Isabela
Claudio Salazar Arias   |   Mill: San Cristóbal del Llano
La Isabela is part of a three-generation coffee story in Llano Bonito de Naranjo, where the Salazar family has farmed since the time of grandfather Cristóbal Salazar — after whom the beneficio, San Cristóbal, is named. Today, brothers Danilo and Claudio continue the tradition with a spirit of experimentation that has transformed what was once a conventional operation into a precision-focused processing project. When the beneficio was founded in 2017 with a single pulper and 30 bags, it was already clear that the family's ambition extended beyond volume.
This winning lot consists of 600 Geisha plants in just their second harvest, grown at 1,650 meters above sea level and harvested on February 26 by two harvesting families of ten people. The process — natural anaerobic with 72 hours of fermentation and 32 days of solar drying on elevated beds — was designed to maximize the expression of the variety while taking full advantage of the beneficio's distinctive extended-oxidation approach. Small volumes, exceptional attention, and processes adapted specifically to each variety: that is the San Cristóbal philosophy.