Every Christmas in Sweden and across the Nordics, roasters release a julkaffe: a seasonal coffee chosen to mark the holidays. Our Festive Single Origin takes inspiration from this tradition, and each year we choose one standout coffee to sit alongside our Festive Blend.
This year it’s a honey-processed Catuai from El Nery, a small plot right behind the drying tables at the Calderón family’s micromill in Tarrazú, Costa Rica.
Johana, Joyce and Omar Calderón
We tasted this family’s coffee before we knew whose it was. In 2015, our Green Buyer Roland Glew sat on the international jury for the Costa Rica Cup of Excellence, where every coffee is cupped blind. Tenth place, with 88.44 points, went to a Catuai from Finca Ortiz 1900 in Santa María de Dota. The name on the entry was Johana Calderón Martínez. It took until 2022 to get the first bags to us, through our long-standing export partners Exclusive Coffees, and we’ve bought from the family every year since.
The micromill, Micro-Beneficio Granitos de Altura del Ortiz, was built by Johana and Joyce’s father, Omar, after decades of growing coffee and handing his harvest to a cooperative. Just over ten years ago, the sisters asked if they could run the mill. He said yes, of course. Today they run it side by side, while Omar manages the family’s farms. They’ve chosen to stay small and put their time into the steps they can control, from cherry selection through to drying. Granitos de Altura means “high altitude little beans”, and they take that seriously.
El Nery and the mountains of Tarrazú
Tarrazú sits in the Talamanca mountains of San José province and is one of Costa Rica’s best-known coffee regions. The family’s plots are spread up the mountainside around Santa María de Dota, from about 1,700 to 2,000 metres, and several are simply named for their elevation: Ortiz 1800, Ortiz 1900, Ortiz 2000. Up at these elevations, the nights are cool and the soils are volcanic, so cherries take their time to ripen and build up more sugar along the way.
Catuai, grown high
Catuai is a cross of Mundo Novo and Caturra, made in Brazil in 1949 and released in 1972. It’s compact, which suits steep slopes like Tarrazú’s, and it’s become one of the most widely planted varieties in Costa Rica. Its usual reputation is dependable: caramel, nuts and milk chocolate. Grow it high and let it ripen slowly, and you get denser beans, brighter acidity and a lot more fruit.
Honey processed
Costa Rica is where honey processing as we know it took off. The skin of the cherry comes off, but the sticky, sugar-rich mucilage underneath stays on the bean while it dries. Those sugars, and the gentle fermentation that comes with them, add sweetness and body while keeping more clarity than a natural. It’s a big part of why this cup is so sweet and silky. Honeys are the coffees we come back to most from Granitos. In 2024 the family added new drying tables at the mill, so the sisters now have room to pick the right process for each lot and dry it properly.
- Country: Costa Rica
- Region: Tarrazú
- Province: San José
- Farm / Lot: El Nery
- Mill: Micro-Beneficio Granitos de Altura del Ortiz
- Producers: Johana, Joyce & Omar Calderón
- Elevation: 1,700–2,000 m.a.s.l.
- Process: Honey
- Varietal: Catuai
- FILTER RECIPE
- Suggested method: AeroPress
Dry dose: 16g
Water: 230g / 96°C
Time: 2:30mins
To find the method that suits your kit, check out our Brew Guides.
It's traditional in Scandinavian countries to select a special single-origin coffee each Festive season as Julkaffe, the coffee of Christmas, and we felt this would be a fantastic idea to adopt to showcase an incredible single-origin coffee alongside our own tradition of creating a delicious festive blend each year.
Sitting at 1,800 metres above sea level in Tarrazú you’ll find Granitos de Altura del Ortiz. The family-run micromill is managed by sisters Johana and Joyce Calderón, known for producing elegant, expressive coffees that reflect both the meticulous care that goes into growing and processing them and the exceptional terroir. The farm is a fine example of the characteristic cup profile gleaned from the cool mountain air and rich volcanic soils - ideal conditions for slow cherry maturation and more complex cup profiles.
The name “Granitos de Altura” translates to “High Altitude Little Beans” - a nod to both the terrain and the fastidious care that defines their approach. This small but mighty operation is a shining example of Costa Rica’s micromill revolution.