Tarrazú Tirra (Yellow Honeyed)

Tirra Estate — Yellow Honey CoopeTarrazú, Los Santos, Tarrazú, Costa Rica

Tirra Estate sits in Los Santos, one of the most celebrated microclimates in all of Tarrazú — a region Costa Rica has spent generations earning a reputation for. CoopeTarrazú, the cooperative behind this lot, runs Tirra as a flagship project: smaller scale, higher attention, with a focus on process experimentation that most cooperatives don't attempt.

The yellow honey process leaves a layer of fruit mucilage on the bean through drying — which, at a medium-dark roast, doesn't get erased. It deepens. The black cherry and cola notes that define this lot feel roasted-in rather than fragile, and the brown sugar sweetness has real weight behind it. The mandarin cuts through at the finish — brighter than you'd expect, and welcome for it.

We offered this one as a light roast earlier this season. It was good. This is different — and we think it's the better argument for what Tirra can be. Some coffees reveal themselves when you back off. This one opened up when we leaned in.

The light roast showed you what this coffee could do. The medium-dark shows you what it's made of.

This roast has more range than it looks — don't sleep on it as espresso. The cola and cherry come through in a shot in a way that's hard to get anywhere else.