Our review of a medium roast Costa Rica, from Driven Coffee.

This is the second coffee we have tried from Driven Coffee.

The first was an Ethiopia Sidamo, which we wrote about a couple of weeks back. This one is from Costa Rica.

I have a bit of a soft spot for Driven Coffee, in large part because they use a relatively low-tech roaster - a vintage German Gothot Roaster.

I love low-tech machinery, where interaction with the process comes through the expertise of the user – or roaster in his case. Equipment that is driven 100% by microchips and software leaves me cold, and the roaster with almost nothing to do.

Anyway, back to the Costa Rica coffee.

As always, we used our Bonavita drip brewer, after grinding the beans just prior to brewing.

When reviewing coffees we use the Bonavita instead of a pour-over method, using our Chemex or Hario Dripper, simply because it allows for a consistency in results that I couldn’t be sure of if I used a more hands-on method each time.

This is a smooth coffee, with a full and steady mouth feel.

The acidity is blended with a sweetness that seems to come from a balance of chocolate and citrus notes. Or perhaps that feel of both sweetness and fruit could be better described as dark cherry.

There are no sharp edges to this coffee, and little contrast between the first taste and the after-taste. Just smooth, even and consistent, from start to finish.

There was also a floral note in there somewhere, which gives the overall taste a welcome freshness and brightness.

This isn’t a “high-caffeine jolt” kind of coffee, but nor is it overly light or mild.

As a result, this is a coffee you can enjoy as much in the morning as you would after lunch, or even after dinner.

If you’re into trying fine coffees, this one is definitely worth a try.

Find out more about this Costa Rica coffee and the Driven Coffee website.

About the author: Nick Usborne, aka Coffee Detective, is a writer and long-time coffee enthusiast. Read more…