Costa Rica Don Mayo La Loma – Free Form Coffee Roasters

Free Form Coffee Roasters, formerly Garland Coffee, is a husband-wife roaster combo from Sedona, Arizona. I’d been impressed with their coffee in the past and was excited to try them under their new name and branding.

This coffee is a fully washed Caturra variety from Costa Rica. There have been some excellent coffees coming out of Costa Rica this year, but most I have tried have either been natural or honey processed. This coffee begins with a complex & sweet fragrance of chocolate, vanilla, almonds and dried fruit. The flavor reminded me of dark chocolate, hazelnuts, vanilla and raisins, with subtle warming spices throughout. The flavor was quite complex with lots of layering. The acidity was fairly subtle and gave way to a very balanced, approachable and clean cup of coffee. The body was thick and syrupy and the “weight” of the coffee lingered long into the finish. The coffee had a rich sweetness that reminded me of molasses. The coffee worked well in pour over methods, as well as espresso. I really enjoyed how well it carried cream, which led to perfect Cortado.

The Bottom Line

This was an excellent coffee that was extremely easy to drink. It’s thick body, subtle warming spices and rich sweetness made this coffee feel like the perfect one to enjoy as the weather cools here in the Midwest.

As an aside, the new packaging for Free Form is gorgeous. The level of detail included on the bag illustrations is stunning.