Costa Rica Cerro Buena Vista Black Cherry

High in the mountains of southern Costa Rica, where the Talamanca range climbs toward the Pacific, the Torres family processes ripe cherries one careful lot at a time. Their Cerro Buena Vista Micromill turns out coffee with the kind of clarity that put Costa Rica on the specialty map. This Black Cherry natural is sweet, layered, and immaculately clean.

OriginCosta Rica RegionBuena Vista de Rivas, Perez Zeledon (Brunca) Elevation1,680m (5,500 ft) ProcessBlack Cherry Natural VarietyVilla Sarchi The Source

A Family Micromill in the Brunca Highlands

Perez Zeledon sits in the Brunca growing region, the southern frontier of Costa Rican coffee. It is one of the area's earliest coffee districts, with varied microclimates that build complexity into the cup, from jasmine-like aromatics to bright citrus. This lot comes from Finca La Ponderosa, perched at 1,680 meters, where cool nights and steady elevation slow the cherries and concentrate their sugars. That kind of high-altitude growing is what gives this coffee its dense, syrupy sweetness.

The Torres family, Luis Carlos and Hanny with their children Richard and Kristel, founded the Cerro Buena Vista Micromill in 2015. The goal was independence from commodity pricing and full control over quality and traceability. Their ecological wet mill conserves water and composts organic matter into fertilizer, work recognized with two stars in Costa Rica's Ecological Blue Flag program. The family also trains neighbors in composting, shade management, and chemical-free farming, strengthening the wider community.

The Craft

Sealed Fermentation, Slow Drying

The Black Cherry process is a deliberate take on the natural method. Fully ripe cherries are sealed in tanks and fermented for 48 hours before they ever reach a drying bed. That anaerobic window deepens the fruit and builds the wine-like character that defines this lot. From there the cherries dry slowly on raised beds, fruit still intact, so the sugars in the skin work their way into the seed. To understand how this differs from a washed coffee, read our guide to natural and washed processing.

We roast this coffee to City+, a light-medium level that keeps the natural's fruit forward while drawing out a rounder chocolate base. The roast is tuned to honor the work done at the mill rather than cover it, so the red-fruit sweetness and Costa Rican clarity both come through in the cup.

Red Grape Lemon Blossom Milk Chocolate Creamy Almond BodyMedium-Full AcidityBright The Cup

Bright Fruit Over a Creamy Base

The cup opens with a sparkling lift of citrus and floral lemon blossom, then deepens into ripe red grape and grape skin. Underneath runs a creamy, nutty sweetness, milk chocolate and almond, that lingers well past the last sip. For all its fruit, the coffee stays remarkably clean and balanced, the hallmark that makes this corner of Costa Rica famous.

Find Your Fix

This lot shines as pourover. A Chemex or V60 frames the floral top notes and clean finish, while an Aeropress concentrates the syrupy sweetness for a fuller cup. Beehouse and drip both work well for an everyday brew. Explore the rest of our coffee beans and find your fix.

Roasted in small batches at our Virginia Beach roastery.

Packaged in reusable glass mason jars, returned locally for reuse. Solar-roasted.

Virginia Beach, VA