MICEPA

About the Coffee

MICEPA is short for Microbeneficio Cerro Paraguas, a community mill at 1,495 meters above sea level in Chirripó, Costa Rica. The mill takes in coffee from about fifteen surrounding farms. This lot comes from Rigoberto Alaya Blanco and José Ureña Ulloa, and it is made of two varieties, Catuai and Caturra.

Chirripó is a young coffee-producing region. Producers there share one mill to manage processing and drying, which keeps every lot under the same hands from cherry to finished bean. This coffee is a natural, so the cherries dry whole with the fruit still on the seed. The ripe cherries are picked selectively and checked regularly as they dry, so moisture leaves evenly and unwanted fermentation stays out of the lot.

About Transcend

Poul Mark left a career in law and opened Transcend in Edmonton in July 2006, as a coffee bar and roastery in an industrial area. In 2017 Transcend opened a café and roastery in Ritchie Market, a building Mark helped develop with Greg Zeschuk. In 2025 Mark took over as lead roaster again.

After his first trip to origin, to Panama in 2008, Mark committed Transcend to buying all its coffee through direct trade. Much of that buying happens in Costa Rica, through long-time partner Francisco Mena of Exclusive Coffees, who works with independent farmers processing their own coffee at micro-mills. Mark said in 2025 that Transcend has bought from Costa Rican producer Ricardo Pérez for 15 years.

"Transcend is finally part of our lineup! If you're from Edmonton, you might recognize Transcend as one of the pioneers of the third wave coffee scene there. Headed by Poul Mark (Canada's 2nd ever Q grader), Transcend is one of few roasters that has relationships that span decades; we expect Poul & team's dedication to the craft shines through in these coffees."

- Dean, Director of Coffee