The farm sits on the low part of the slopes of Barva Volcano in Costa Rica’s West Valley, affording nutrient rich soil from age old mineral deposits from ancient volcanic eruptions.
Jardin de Aromas looks just as the name sounds, a garden of aromas. It’s heavily populated with coffee shrubs of course, and also with brightly colored bougainvilleas that offer splashes of bright colors to the pathways throughout the farm. Jardin is truly one of the most beautiful of the larger farms I’ve visited in terms of the grounds, as well as organization on the part of owner/operator Carol Binden. The farm is broken into several plots, the names coinciding with the surrounding flora: papaya, aguacate, quizarra, carrizal…etc. When I visited a few years back, Carol explained how they prune their coffee trees in 5 year cycles, with a complete replant after 4 cycles. You can see this as you walk the farm, rows of coffee at varying heights, a physical representation of the tight order that is kept. The latter is also apparent as Carol explains her lot numbering system, numbers assigned to each day lot from each individual plot that follows the coffee from the day is is picked, to when it is finally bagged and stored in her storage facility (which happens to be an old horse stable on the property – see the 2nd photo).
Cupping notes from Sweet Maria’s:
Adding hot water gives off aromatic hints of butterscotch and sweet herbal accents, whereas… Full City roast offered bittersweet cocoa accented by dark fruit. The cup is no far cry from what is sensed in the aroma: solid and straight-forward muscovado sugar sweetness, along with spiced herbal teas impacting the aroma. As the temperature cools down a bit, a subtle coconut note comes through, both like tangy coconut water, and dried coconut chips too. Full City roasts produce a layered chocolate profile, chocolate taffy, Ibarra spiced cocoa, and a natural carob note in the aftertaste. Full City roasts and beyond make a really nice option for espresso too, with opaque dark chocolate flavors, and a syrupy texture that carries hints of black walnut and raisin with it.
