Esteban Zamora - Cinnamon Anaerobic

About This Coffee

MEET THE PRODUCER | Esteban Zamora is no stranger to our menu - we've been sharing his cinnamon co-fermented coffees with the world for several seasons now. Esteban, a mechanical-engineer-turned-coffee-producer, processes all of the coffee grown on his family's five-hectare plantation by hand! Cinnamon coffees really got their start in Costa Rica, and Esteban is one of the best in the game at doing it. The process for co-fermenting a coffee anaerobically with cinnamon is tedious and long, but he sees it through beautifully. TRUST THE PROCESS | First, fresh coffee cherries are brought to the wet mill where the fruit is pulped, but mucilage is not washed from the seed. Everything but the cascara (coffee cherry skin) is added to GrainPro bags and combined with 1 kg of cinnamon powder for every 46 kg of coffee cherries. This mixture is left to ferment in an anaerobic environment for six days before finally being moved to concrete patios to begin drying. This drying process is finished in stationary mechanical dryers at the mill because reactions between the cinnamon powder and the mucilage form a seal around the coffee seed, making it more difficult to dry and requiring the use of mechanical dryers. TAKE A SIP | We say it year after year, but this season's cinnamon lot might just be Esteban's best iteration of the concept to date. He's really dialed in his cinnamon anaerobic process, resulting in a cup that showcases both variety and fermentation beautifully. The coffee itself is remarkably sweet, and the play between that confectionary sweetness and the unmistakable cinnamon flavors leaves us contemplating cinnamon rolls. The fruit notes even seem to be touched by the magic of fall, possessing a "cooked" quality about them that reminds us of baked apples and dried oranges. The texture is smooth and creamy, teaming up with all of those flavor notes to deliver a sipping experience like sweet horchata.