Martin Ureña owns La Chumeca Micromill and several farms, just up the hill from his brother Edgar's farms and micromill, El Pilon. Like Edgar, Martin produces only naturals, including a few experimental lots: He is also meticulous in his processing, but is interested in innovations and is curious about making improvements and changes. He constantly moves among the beds, rotating the coffee as it dries, and picking out any cherry that is not drying evenly.
Martin Ureña uses the simple mill set-up at El Pilon, a two-tank device that quickly, easily, and effectively removes floaters and impurities from the coffee. The cherry goes from the first float tank to a secondary tank for further analysis, and the cherry is then brought up to La Chumeca's raised beds, where they are spread out by lot to keep them separate. This lot is a selection of Villa Sarchi variety coffee from Finca Mima. There are 50 beds at La Chumeca Micromill, and Don Martin produces about 30 exportable bags annually.
For more information about Costa Rican coffees, please visit our Costa Rica Origin Page.
