Multiple winner and candidate for the Costa Rica Cup of Excellence, Alejo Castro Kahle of Volcan Azul is a pioneer in the Costa Rican coffee industry. The process begins before the cherries are harvested. Alejo and his team look for the ideal time to pick the coffee by regularly measuring the Brix value. Once this is found, the harvest is done and the cherries are taken to the watermill, where they are thoroughly cleaned with water and then stored in fermentation vats where the Brix, PH and temperature are constantly measured to ensure the process works as intended. This year, the coffee is kept in oxygen-free vats at an average temperature of 15 degrees Celsius for about 7 days.