San Lorenzo is one of the highest altitude districts in the main coffee producing Tarrazu region of Costa Rica. It produces some of the highest scoring, most beautiful coffees to be found on any cupping table in the world.

Our Historic Links

Atkinsons and Costa Rica go back a long, long way, perhaps even to the dawn of the Victorian Age. Just as we were founded in 1837 so coffee from Costa Rica started coming in to British waters. The trade routes that opened up made Cost Rican coffee one of the most popular origins on the dining tables of Britain. For the next century, up until 1945 and the end of the Second World War more coffee from Costa Rica made its way to Britain than any other consuming nation.

An Old Favourite

So, it is more than likely that some of it landed here at St George's Quay, when Lancaster was a major West-facing port. We have found some very old Atkinsons coffee menus with Costa Rican on the lists. I know that it was the favourite coffee of my predecessor, who worked here for more than 50 years and that resulted in a lot of personal recommendations! I can see in the old ledgers, that he only bought the best available at that time. It was always from Tarrazu, and usually San Marco or San Paulo. I carried on that tradition when we took over. When the Community Lots were introduced in 2011 we quickly joined the programme which provided us which traceable coffee, that also supported the local community in Tarrazu.

A Genuine Relationship

I immediately cleared my diary when the chance came to visit the region and I prioritised a trip to paradise. I witnessed a country so steeped in coffee that there is evidence of it everywhere you look. It's not surprising when you consider that the first trees were planted here in the 1780's. Some families have been working here in coffee for many generations. I had always been keen to connect with this origin and with Coope Tarrazu that we have been buying from for all these years. We share some common ground as a multi-generational family coffee business.

Waves of Beautiful Coffee

In the cupping room we supped and slurped our way through wave after wave of equally beautiful coffee, until we reached a point of excellence blindness! At this juncture it's always good practice to listen to the consensus and hear everyone's comments on what characteristics stood out in which coffee. San Lorenzo kept cropping up.

Highest Altitude. Highest Quality.

There's a certain vertigo rush that comes with hitting the heights of the coffee highlands up a dirt track in the back of a pick-up truck that is the pinnacle of any sourcing trip. (Think I've just written my epitaph!) Then seeing full sacks of freshly-picked, fully ripe red cherry by the roadside is just the cherry on the icing of the cake! The guest Nicaraguan pickers are here harvesting these trees late in the season. This is due partly to their altitude, as the working pattern is from the lower levels climbing up to the highest. The air is clearer and cleaner up here and the trees take longer to grow. They absorb a deeper, richer range of nutrients to give greater complexity to the yield.

The Flavours Revealed

In the cup we pick up refreshing acidity with notes of blackcurrant and floral hop aromas. The accents of spiced rum can be traced back to the natural process and contrast nicely with the syrupy sweetness of the mouthfeel. When cold, the body becomes more rounded and soft fruits appear like peach and papaya. The coffee leaves a good lasting impression, perfect for a seasonal change this Autumn, with the finish being wreathed in mists and mellow fruitfulness.

San Lorenzo

Since 1837 Atkinsons have been sourcing, roasting and brewing some of the best coffee and tea from around the world here in Lancaster.

San Lorenzo

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San Lorenzo

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