How is the development of coffee farms in Costa Rica? What is the ranking of coffee quality in Costa Rica?

During the "Excellence Cup" event, Bram, a Central American buyer of Ally Coffee, first contacted the producer Jorge Vasqua é zUre ñ an and his cousins Alex and Daniela in a coffee shop in San Jose, Costa Rica. Since that meeting, the relationship has developed, and Ally Coffee has invested in ways to help connect Roble Negro coffee with roasters around the world.

Agriculture is a patient activity, and over the past three seasons, Bram, Jorge, Alex, Daniela and the last coffee roaster have been trying to share feedback and experience. During this period, Roble Negro built a wet mill for the first time to process his coffee and found a dry mill suitable for grinding small specialty coffee, thus finding a reliable neighbor.

Finca Cedral Alto

The story of Roble Negro is both the story of the producer Jorge Vasqua é zUre ñ an and the story of the Finca Cedral Alto farm in Aserr í in the Central Valley that he bought in 2007. As a successful banker, two decades later, Jorge started a recycling company and acquired Cedral Otto, aware of his belief in environmental responsibility and trying to address the land abuse around him.

Finca Cedral Alto is more than 2/3 of the forest. Most of the 22.5 hectares of land on the farm is covered by pristine rainforest, as well as hectares of reforestation and pastures and about 3 hectares of coffee production. Trees are planted between coffee trees and fruit trees, which provide food for both people and many animals on the farm.

The natural biodiversity of animals and plants creates rich habitats for trees, flowers, birds, reptiles and mammals. Orchids, pineapple plants and other epiphytes grow on oaks and cedars, which give farms and coffee companies names. Eagles, parrots, snakes, frogs, raccoons, Pumas, armadillos and other creatures feed on guava, bananas, plantains, avocados and citrus trees. Their roots stabilize the soil, while fallen leaves add nutrients.

Cultivate sustainable development

Jorge manages Finca Cedral Alto as sustainably as possible, applying natural fertilizers made from coffee pulp in a timely manner, and preventive application of fungicides and pesticides made from microbes collected in the humus soil layer of the rainforest. His team cleared weeds by hand to eliminate the need for herbicides. Pruning, harvesting and sowing are also done by hand.

Roble Negro coffee and Finca Cedral Alto represent the future of coffee production in Costa Rica, where production is small but growing steadily and is always in harmony with the landscape and its ecological balance. The forest belt of the farm protects six freshwater springs and streams and waterfalls that pass through the farm, forming the starting point of the Rio Gerco River, which provides drinking water for nearby towns and farms. This comprehensive way of growing coffee should be understood to mean that the quality does not depend solely on the cup, but is planted throughout the production process, and reflects the treatment of people, plants, animals and the land involved and the adjacent process.