By Xótchil Méndez D.
Photos and Video: Douglas López Toledo
Amidst thousands of coffee projects, at the almost endless World Specialty Coffee Expo in Seattle in 2017, in the area dedicated to Costa Rica, coffee was being prepared using the “vandola” method. With much curiosity, visitors watched as the beverage dripped and fell into a clay container, through a handmade method. A sweet aroma filled our senses.
In Costa Rica and other Latin American countries, the “chorreador” (cloth bag) is one of the oldest and most traditional ways adopted to filter coffee. But from the perspective of barismo, our beloved “chorreador” suffers from some shortcomings when it comes to extracting flavor.
So why not think of a method linked to our culture that can provide precision like the V60, Kalita, or Chemex? This was the thought that germinated in the mind of Minor Alfaro Alpízar, the Costa Rican creator of the Vandola infusion method.
In the blood
Minor is originally from Coronado, a city located at the foot of the Irazú volcano; he studied television direction of photography and worked in his field for 23 years, but since 2004 he graduated as a barista and married coffee, a passion that, as he tells Bandola, runs in his blood as he comes from a peasant family and his father always planted the bean.
The story began in 2003 when his wife decided to undertake a project and set up the coffee shop: Kaffa Café; they chose the name to honor the region of Ethiopia where the golden bean was discovered. “It was one of the first specialty cafes in the country, and of course, it was something new for the people of Coronado, and we had to explain to the customers what it meant to bring our coffee directly from the producer,” Minor explains.
A method for serving and savoring
Kaffa became one of the reference cafés in Costa Rica, and Minor invested part of his time in barismo research to improve the level. It was at the end of 2015 when the vandola was born. “I wanted to design a coffee infusion method that was more practical for the daily service of the café, that would keep the heat for much longer, and at the same time maintain a close link with our culture. That’s one of the reasons for using clay; a historical element for Costa Rica, if not for humanity,” he explains.
The vandola (with “v”) takes its name from the “bandolas” or branches of the coffee plant. Its design allows for preparing and serving coffee in a single container; the clay retains the temperature of the coffee for up to 30 minutes, and its creator assures that “it is aseptic, does not alter the taste of the drink, and the material responds even better than glass.”
The method has similarities with the Kalita Wave or the V60 but has its own identity. The vandola is a single piece, it has a handle for easier serving, and it can be used with a Chemex or V60 filter; furthermore, its appearance has character and beauty.
The vandola is particularly innovative for having been developed in a coffee-producing country where historically infusion methods are created by North Americans, Japanese, and people from Nordic countries. “We are born with the farm a few hours away and we do not taste our coffee, we only know what they have told us about it. The Vandola brings out the unique flavors of coffee, from the hands of our people,” says Minor.
Let’s talk about taste
To use the vandola, Minor recommends using a medium grind (pre-infuse and infuse calmly). The aroma of coffee emerges from the cone, and a small valve allows oxygenation of the coffee itself. The result is a cup with well-defined flavor and sweetness.
In a filtration methods laboratory (vandola, French press, and Aeropress) conducted by ICAFE (Costa Rican Coffee Institute, ICAFE -2017), it was concluded that: “the vandola demonstrated greater exposure of sugars and chlorogenic acids, but also greater exposure to caffeine, which gives it greater body and makes the flavor last longer in the mouth, compared to a French press.”
Its creator continues to work on a constant evolution of his method and says that no method puts all the flavor of coffee in the cup but “our goal is for the vandola to develop all the possible flavor,” he concludes.
From Central America to the rest of the world
The vandola is already present in countries such as Guatemala, the United States, Peru, Chile, Nicaragua, France, and South Korea. By 2017, ICAFE embraced the method as part of its exhibitions at international fairs, starting for the first time in Seattle. In Costa Rica, 2 national vandola championships have already been held, arousing so much interest among baristas and specialty coffee enthusiasts.
Made to measure
Minor’s vision and focus come to life in the hands of Denis Chavarría, a craftsman from a family of potters in the city of Santa Ana, Costa Rica. This man with magical hands captured the essence of the vandola and created unique pieces of art that preserve the flavor and warmth of an excellent coffee.
“The idea is to return to what scientifically is ours. We have been learning more and more to perfect it. Each Vandola is unique, it is a piece of art, for me, it is my girl, made by hand with dedication while ensuring the standards and measures to enjoy an infusion at the level of our coffee,” comments Denis.
From the vision of Minor and Denis, as actors from coffee-producing countries, we must continue adding to that value chain that begins in the coffee plantation and ends in the cup, getting to know our coffee, its origin, and its flavor better.
