Costa Rica Los Campos Milenio 250g

If Thermic shows how Don Alexis can play with processing, this coffee reveals the other side of his experimental approach. Milenio, an F1 hybrid created by crossing Sarchimor and Rume Sudan, brings together traits of both African and American varieties: resilience, stability and high cup quality in a single plant. In practice, this means that above 1,300 metres it delivers an exceptionally clean, even and intensely fruity profile. Lightness intertwines with sweetness, reflected in the combination of melon and blood orange notes.

The Black Honey process further amplifies this profile, accentuating its sweetness and creamy structure. Ripe cherries rest for a day in bags before being depulped with as much mucilage left on the beans as possible. The amount of remaining mucilage determines the colour of the Honey process, and in the case of Black Honey, it is at its highest. The beans are then placed on African beds, where they undergo a slow aerobic fermentation followed by an equally slow drying phase lasting around 25 days. The result is a cup with vivid sweetness, fruity juiciness and a gently syrupy texture.

Projects like this are the norm at Los Campos. By running his own micromill, Don Alexis has gained complete freedom to experiment with both processing methods and varieties. Thanks to this, each season brings harvests that show different sides of Costa Rican coffee. Thermic is one of them. Milenio is another, brighter in character, based on a modern variety yet still carrying that unmistakable Costa Rican pura vida spirit.