The Aquiares Estate is the largest coffee farm in Costa Rica, and is a true powerhouse. Founded in 1890, it was taken on around a century later by Alfonso Robelo who set about revolutionising the way the farm operated. He evolved the estate into a town, offering stability and security to his workforce as well as affordable housing, transforming the relationship between land owners and workers.
Alfonso’s son, Diego, now manages Aquiares and has adopted his fathers visionary approach. The estate is renowned for exceptional agricultural management, embracing and developing new varieties, and experimenting with processing. This coffee is a perfect example of what Diego is achieving. The Mariana varietal is a new hybrid developed from a cross between IAPAR 59 and an Ethiopian landrace variety, and is one of the first F1 hybrids in the world to be propagated by seed. It was fermented in sealed cylinders in the mill’s greenhouse for a minimum of 3 days, where oxygen levels would gradually decrease, before being sun-dried for 15 days. The resulting profile is vibrant, complex and super sweet.
Seasonal buying is about seeing coffee as a crop not a commodity, buying in harmony with the growing seasons to enjoy coffee at its best. This kind of buying has always been the backbone of our business and it’s something we’ve improved and refined every year.
