Coffee Bios
Doña Isa is our first trademark from Costa Rica comprised entirely of coffee grown by women producers. We arranged to purchase cherry from 11 women in the Coto Brus region — near our farm Hacienda Rio Negro — to produce this coffee, paying an additional premium for their participation.
The coffee arrives at the mills in large trucks. These trucks pick up the coffee from the receiving stations (recibidores) on the farms and transport it through the mountains to the mills. It is critical that processing of the coffee begins within 24 hours of the coffee being picked from the trees.
El Indio is the classic San Marcos coffee; it is very well-balanced with a heavy body and high, slightly winey acidity. Flavor attributes are complex and range from tropical nuts and dark chocolate to citrus fruit. The dense beans that make up El Indio lend themselves well to many different styles of roasting.
Located in Santa Maria de Dota, Finca La Pastora has been in the same family for over 60 years. La Minita has worked with Finca La Pastora since 2004. For several years the farm supplied great quality cherry to our mill, Beneficio Rio Tarrazu. In 2011 the farm built its own micromill and now supplies us both cherry and green coffee. La Pastora processes the coffees in many ways that highlight the differences of each process.
Since the late 1960’s, Hacienda La Minita has been the foundation of our company. We have exported coffee under the La Minita banner since 1985, becoming one of the initial coffees to be sold as a single estate coffee in the world. Milling operations were added in the early 2000’s and in 2014, the operation was acquired by ITO EN.
Hacienda La Pradera is a 181 hectare coffee farm in the heart of the Los Santos region at 1,550 meters above sea level. The bulk of our harvest is from the caturra variety which is well suited to the soil and climate of the area. The cup is bright and sweet with medium heavy body, and contains flavor notes of citrus, maple, caramel, and bittersweet cocoa.
The fruit that comprises La Gladiola comes from two specific receiving stations in the north-western part of the Los Santos region. We purchase the cherry directly from our network of farmer partners, process it at our mill, Beneficio Rio Tarrazu and keep it separated from our other trademarks.
Our La Sonrisa coffee is comprised of coffees we purchase from only the highest elevation farms in the Coto Brus region of Costa Rica. This area borders Panama to the south, and nudges up against the largest rainforest preserve in Central America, Parque Nacional La Amistad. La Sonrisa is milled to our precise specifications at Beneficio Rio Negro where we have complete control over the final preparation.
