About this coffee
Aquiares Estate was established in 1890 and is the largest farm in Costa Rica– something that usually would not necessarily be a selling point for us. Nearly a century after its founding, Alfonso Robelo transformed the farm from a monolithic estate that owned the property of its employees to establishing a small town and making the homes employee-owned to create wealth and limit insecurity. Sustainability as an ethos carries through to today with his son Diego managing the farm. Now the farm focuses on carbon neutrality- capturing carbon and protecting biological corridors. They also welcome researchers from all over the world to conduct agricultural and environmental studies on their land from the benefits of agroforestry on soil health and biodiversity. I have a lot more positive things to say, but really I just recommend reading more from their website or other publications if you’re interested in what drove us to launch our first Costa Rican coffee!
This particular lot is composed of the Mariana variety– an F1 hybrid that thrives at medium altitude, perfectly suited for Aquiares Estate. F1 hybrids are a category of varieties being bred to help meet the needs of a changing climate for coffee producers, something we’ll need to write more about soon.
