Costa Rica Cordillera de Fuego Termico Process – My Friend’s Coffee

There are so many unique and different coffee processing methods now that I am constantly coming across ones I’ve never heard of before. The Termico process used in this coffee is one I had never heard of before trying this coffee from the estate Cordillera de Fuego. Here’s an overview of the process from My Friend’s Coffee site: “First, coffee cherries are hand-picked for ripeness and sugar content. Next, the fruit gets semi-washed, and then…the Cordillera crew busts out a heating stage. This signature step caramelizes some of the mucilage onto the bean, and therein lies the magic: fruit-borne caramelization decking an already stellar coffee.” It’s a proprietary and incredibly unique processing method that led to a truly wonderful tasting and complex coffee.

The coffee begins with a fragrance of sweet cinnamon and baking spices. The flavor was rich & complex with notes of rich chocolate, cinnamon, baking spice, and subtle banana. As it cools, there is a hint of some tropical fruit notes as well. It had a fairly full body with a wonderful, rounded mouthfeel. The sweetness was quite decadent and was chocolate-toned with baking spice supports; the finish lingered with notes of sweet cinnamon.

The Bottom Line

This coffee had an incredibly complex flavor profile with so much depth and evolution. It truly was a coffee that the overall drinking experience was more than the sum of its parts.