COSTA RICA
Single Origin | Filter

Kyoho Grape. Orange Blossom. Mango. 

Aquiares, one of Costa Rica’s largest and most historic coffee farms, sits high on the fertile slopes of Turrialba Volcano. Producing coffee continuously for over a century, the farm has developed an enduring model for growing high-quality Arabica coffee, protecting a stunning natural setting, and supporting a thriving local community of 1,800 people.

Nestled between the Aquiares and Turrialba Rivers, “Aquiares” means “land between rivers” in Costa Rica’s Huetar indigenous language. The region where the farm is located used to be the centre for this pre-Columbian civilization, and occasionally old artefacts are found among the coffee trees. In fact, Guayabo National Monument, Costa Rica´s most important indigenous settlement, is just 5 km (3.1 miles) away. The land of Aquiares is blessed with a multitude of clean water sources and even provides drinking water to three communities down-stream. Coffee plots are interlaced with natural springs and countless streams and rivers, all of which are protected with forested buffer zones. The network of natural corridors throughout the farm connects the large, preserved forests in the two river valleys, providing a healthy environment for the local animals, birds, and plants.

Don Alfonso took over farm management in 1992, and at the time he was new(ish) to coffee. There are many ‘pre-Aquiares’ stories, too many for this info sheet, but enough to fill a book for sure (forthcoming we hope!). However, one thread throughout his life has been a commitment to social justice. From the beginning, Don Alfonso made the social welfare of farm workers and the wider community one of his main priorities. His dedication has transformed the farm and the region.

This lot is 100% ‘Esperanza’ variety – a hybrid of Caturra and the Ethiopia 531 variety, developed by various Central American coffee research institutes. Esperanza marries high cup quality with high resistance to disease – particularly the ojo de gallo fungus. Aquiares has found the variety very well-suited to the farm’s high elevation (grown above 1,200 meters in most cases) and as consistently yielding a quality cup. The variety’s fruity profile lends itself well to honey and natural processing, which is why the Robelos decided on processing this small lot using the Natural method.

All Aquiares coffee is picked by hand to ensure consistent high quality. Microlots, such as this one, are picked by a special team of skilled harvesters who are paid well above the daily rate for their exceptional skill in picking the ripest cherries at each pass. Each tree is visited up to seven times during the harvest to ensure that only fully red ripe cherries are picked. The skilled hands of the pickers represent the farm’s most valuable asset. Pickers hail from the community of Aquiares, nearby towns, and even from the neighbouring country of Nicaragua and Panama. The farm ensures that all workers have a safe work environment and a comfortable place to live. Workers coming from further away can live in on-site housing and use a children’s day-care. The farm sponsors doctors’ visits for pickers and their families twice a week where nutritional health advice is also given. To take better care of its field workers, Aquiares has established first-of-its-kind physical therapy sessions and also a daily warm-up routine of exercise before work. Many pickers return each year, confirming success in providing a secure home in Aquiares.

As coffee cherries come from the field the same day that they are picked, they are transported to Aquiares’ wet mill. The farm produces fully washed coffees, honey processed coffees and naturals. This natural lot has been floated for density (with all floaters being removed) and then immediately moved to the farm’s greenhouse patios for pre-drying. After 2-3 days of pre-drying on the concrete, they are moved to the
farm’s African beds, also in the covered greenhouse, where they slowly dry for between 20 and 25 days. Although Guardiolas are common in this wet, humid area of Costa Rica, the Robleos are always searching for new ways to innovate in processing and drying. For instance, they knew that drying was one of their main challenges in producing speciality coffee – particularly as they wanted to start producing honey and natural lots. According to Diego Robelo, “Everyone told us we were crazy. You are never going to make honeys and naturals in Turrialba. We decided to prove them wrong.”

In December 2024, coffees from Aquiares Estate was also part of our 2024 Winter Edition retail coffee, forming  one-third of our filter brew offering for festive December, serving in our retail shop and was enjoyed by many. We are pleased to introduce this other coffee from Aquaires to celebrate the start of this new 2025. Here is a toast, to success!