Diego Robelo: Aquiares Estate, Centroamericano, Washed 340g or 5lb

One of the largest coffee farms in Costa Rica, Aquiares devotes 80% of its land to growing high quality coffee and the remaining 20% to conservation. Coffee plots are interlaced with over a dozen natural springs and almost 20 kilometers in streams, all protected with buffer zones in line with our Rainforest Alliance certification. These streams form a network of natural corridors through the farm that connect the large protected forests in the two river valleys, providing a healthy environment for the local animals, birds, and plants.

The community of Aquiares sits in the midst of the farm and is home to almost 2,000 people. The town boasts a century-old primary school, a youth sports program, a recycling committee, an early childhood nutrition center, and a church built in 1925, which is a National Architectural Historic Monument. 

In the 1990s, the farm began a campaign to improve home ownership in the local community. Each worker was given a bonus for their years of service and the farm gave assistance to people applying for government loans. Today 96% of the Aquiares employees own their own houses.

The farm and the community are mutually connected. The farm provides services, land, security and honest jobs. In return, the coffee farm has benefited from a well-educated community and relies on highly skilled professionals from its community to continue functioning. Such a level of interdependence has helped contribute to the sense of pride that Aquiareños take in both our community and our coffee.