Fourteen years ago the Los Crestones producer association was founded, to protect Chirripo national park. Two years later this group of coffee farmers built a micro mill. The Farmers at Los Crestones follow good agricultural practices to minimise impact on the environment.
As of today, 19 individual farmers from four families deliver to the Los Crestones micromill (Arrieta Family, Calderón Family, Acuña Family, Torres Family). All these families live in La Piedra de Rivas a small village in the Chirripo region of Costa Rica.
The coffee grows at elevations of at least 1600 m.a.s.l. to 2000 masl. This leads to slow maturation of cherries and gives the coffee its sweetness. The Microlots are dried on raised beds.
Coffee is harvested by family and neighbours, selecting the ripest cherries. It is then processed in an ecopulper (mechanically demucilaged) before dried on sun raised beds. With the eco-pulper they are able to adjust the mount of mucilage they want and experiment with different types of honey and natural processes. After processing, the coffee is exposed to direct sunlight for 2-3 days before being moved to the greenhouse. In the greenhouse shade nets protect the coffee from direct sunlight. Coffee is moved 3-4 times a day, and after approximately 8 to 10 days to coffee has reached the desired moisture content. The parchment is then stored in the mills warehouse.
October 16, 2020
