Hi there -
New roaster alert! Meet Anne Valdez of Amrita Certified Pure, a sustainability-minded roaster based in Orlando, Florida. Every one of her hand-roasted microlots is sourced with the highest standards of environmental stewardship. Right now, I'm loving her Costa Rica La Amistad - a standout single origin grown on a massive nature preserve straddling the Costa Rica-Panama border. It tastes like green apple taffy, lemon drop, and Toblerone chocolate. It's even available as a dark roast!
Tastes Like: Green Apple, Dark Chocolate, Citrus, Honey
Why I'm obsessed: Every so often, I come across a roaster that feels like a hidden gem - someone quietly doing extraordinary things. That's exactly how I felt when I first tasted the coffees from Amrita Pure, and I'm so thrilled to share them with you. The name Amrita comes from Sanskrit, meaning "immortality"; in mythology, it refers to the nectar of the gods. Pretty fitting for great coffee, am I right? Amrita Pure is all about reverence: for the land, for the animals, and for the joy of a really great cup. Anne, the founder and roaster behind Amrita, is a 30-year veteran of the specialty coffee world and one of the most passionate people I've met in this industry. She roasts fresh to order in Orlando, Florida, donates a portion of every sale to environmental protection. Her bags? Works of art, each label hand-drawn to reflect the character of the coffee inside.
If I had to pick one of her coffees to recommend, it would be her Costa Rica La Amistad. First of all, I adore Costa Rican coffees, which always taste like saltwater taffy to me.But what makes this one really special is the story behind it. The coffee is grown by Roberto Montero, whose farm sits at the edge of the Amistad Rainforest. His grandfather donated most of their land - 15,000 out of 24,700 acres - to help create Costa Rica's largest national park. Today, just 3% of that land is used for coffee cultivation (using zero chemical pesticides of course), with the rest protected as forest and wildlife habitat. Roberto also provides housing, healthcare, and school supplies for his workers and their families. And somehow, he also produces this incredible coffee. This one is everything I love about this industry: community, sustainability, AND flavor, all in one cup. Kudos to Anne at Amrita Pure for sourcing and roasting her exceptional lots. I hope you love it as much as I do!
Bottom Line:You'll love this coffee if you love saltwater taffy, appletinis, or coffees produced through love and commitment to protecting the natural world.
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