Costa Rica - Fair Trade Organic

Photo Credit: Matt Phalen

 Fair Trade Organic (FTO) Coffee

Get ready to enjoy a cup with hints of toffee, honey, and blackberry. This coffee comes from the Chirripó micro-region of southern Costa Rica.

THE PRODUCERS

The farm, facing southeast on steep slopes sits at an altitude of 1,500masl and cultivates Caturra & Catuai robusta varieties. While mango trees are not common at this altitude, this farm has 2 providing shade to the coffee trees. 

The farm is managed with a sustainable system focused on reducing the carbon footprint with proper shade management to provide organic material to soil and keep coffee trees fresh; fertilization based on annual soil analysis; the use of herbicide in specific plots with strong grasses; pollution protection for all water sources on the farm; and there are specialized fruit trees to feed wildlife.

THE PROCESS

This lot utilizes a Black - or “full” honey process. Only the ripest cherries are selected to ensure high sugar content. These are dry, eco pulped with high mucilage retention, and transferred immediately onto raised African beds where they are sun-dried for an average of 12-15 days. All of the milling, grading, and bagging is done on-site, affording the family complete control of the post-harvest process through to the export.

THE REGION

The Chirripó micro-region is developing a name for itself in the specialty coffee scene thanks to its high altitude - ranging from 1,300 to over 2,000masl - the rich of the soils, and fresh environment. It is located between two very high mountains: Cerro de la Muerte (3,491m) and Cerro Chirripó (3,820m., the highest in Costa Rica), the valley between these mountains creates a unique microclimate which is ideal for coffee cultivation. In recent years, the potential for specialty coffee the Chirripó micro-region has developed dramatically. This has contributed to an increase in land planted with coffee and it is projected that it will continue increasing in the coming years.