Centroamericano (Costa Rica)

Milky Way Bar, Shortbread Cookie & Clementine Origin Costa Rica Region Turrialba Producer Diego Robelo, Aquiares Estate Variety Centroamericano F1 Hybrid Elevation 1,200 masl Processing Washed Aquiares (“land between rivers”) is Costa Rica’s largest coffee estate and home to about 1,800 people on the verdant slopes of the Turrialba volcano. Founded in 1890 and reshaped by Alfonso Robelo after he fled Nicaragua in the 1980s, the farm sits amid forests, rivers, and rich biodiversity, and today is managed by his son Diego, who spearheaded moving the estate into specialty coffee production. Alfonso transformed labor relations on the farm by enabling workers to buy their homes, creating stability and pride that underpin Aquiares’ long-term sustainability. That social innovation, alongside the estate’s protected biological corridors and active research programs in agroforestry and biodiversity, makes Aquiares a model for equitable, regenerative agriculture in Central America. This lot is Centroamericano, grown at 1,200 meters elevation and processed fully washed to emphasize clarity and brightness. The washed method strips fruit from the bean before fermentation and drying, yielding a clean cup that showcases the variety and terroir rather than heavy fruit-driven fermentation character. Expect a round and nuanced cup with notes of brown sugar, cacao nibs, caramel, milk and dark chocolate, highlighted by bright lemon and orange.