Description
Tasting notes of black cherry, caramel, raisin, toffee and vanilla
Costa Rica Aquiares has a SCA score of 84.75!
Aquiares, one of Costa Rica’s oldest coffee plantations, is situated on the high slopes of the Turrialba Volcano. The primary coffee plantation in Costa Rica, Aquiares allocates 80% of its land for cultivating premium coffee and the remaining 20% for preservation. Coffee fields are intertwined with more than a dozen natural springs and nearly 20 kilometers of streams, all safeguarded by buffer zones adhering to our Rainforest Alliance certification. These waterways create a web of natural pathways across the estate, linking the vast protected forests in the two river valleys and fostering a thriving habitat for local wildlife, birds, and flora. Established in 1890 by farmers seeking to leverage Costa Rica’s railway system to the port of Limón, Aquiares constructed its own mill, focusing on the washed-coffee methods that define Costa Rican coffee.
The exceptional quality of Aquiares’ coffee quickly garnered a loyal following in Europe, the United States, and Japan. In the early 1900s, the English Lindo family purchased the plantation. Among their initial actions was the importation (in 1925) of an aluminum church from Belgium, along with custom-made stained glass windows from Italy. This church remains the heart of the Aquiares community to this day. In 1949, the Figueres family, including Pepe Figueres, the former president who disbanded the Costa Rican Army, acquired the farm. This prominent family continued to enhance and enlarge the estate until the early 1970s when ownership transitioned to three interconnected families.
The initial planting of the F1 CA strain took place in 2011, without a full comprehension of the endeavor ahead. This hybrid, resulting from crossing Rume Sudan and Sarchimor T5296, proved to thrive in Aquiares’ fertile soils, yielding a distinct profile influenced by the estate’s volcanic, Caribbean, and shaded terroir. Robust plants yield burgundy red cherries containing a dense, large bean. We harvest these lots every 15 days, bringing in only 5-10 bags daily. A dedicated team of pickers, known as “microloteros,” has refined the art of selecting beans at optimal ripeness over the years.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.