About This Coffee
Finca Higuerones is named for the huge fig trees (“higerones” in Spanish) that cover the northeast end of the farm. The trees have incredible exposed roots that crawl over the ground in intricate patterns.
Coopelibertad (Cooperativa de Caficultores de Heredia, Libertad RL) purchased Finca Higuerones from the Tournon family in the mid-1990s. The farm is next to the cooperative’s mill and Coopelibertad wanted to ensure that the land would not be turned into a housing development.
The cooperative was formed in 1961 by 267 producers in Heredia, Costa Rica. The cooperative was the first collective company to focus on coffee production in the Heredia region, and through membership, farmers were able to help themselves and their peers combat economic hardship.
Today, the cooperative focuses on improving coffee quality and quality of life for their members and their communities. They’ve made great strides since the 1960s and have achieved Fair Trade Certification. The Fair Trade social premium of 20 cents per pound of coffee sold is reinvested in member communities through three programs: technical growing assistance, financing and health education.
Cultivation
Coope Libertad channels Fairtrade social premiums into 3 areas where it directly supports farmers and their families. They focus on agricultural extension work, aid with financing and community health.
Experts regularly visit member farms where they help farmers find the best solutions to disease and pest problems, increase yields and renovate fields. They also sample soil and foliage to determine the best scientifically-directed methods for cultivation based on each farm’s individual needs.
Harvest & Post-Harvest
After selective handpicking, cherry is brought to Coopelibertad’s wet mill, which sits adjacent to the farm. Workers carefully sort cherry to select only the most ripe cherry. Ripe, red cherry is laid to sundry on raised beds. Workers rake cherry frequently to ensure even drying. It takes approximately 20 days for cherry to fully dry.
About Coope Libertad
The cooperative provides 3 kinds of financial support to members: harvest pre-financing, farm renovation funding and emergency funding.
Pre-financing helps farmers cover costs associated with production before they receive income from the sale of their harvest. Pre-financing can cover labor costs, inputs or other materials, and services required to produce a successful harvest.
Financing for farm renovations helps farmers work on long-term improvements to their farms and coffee quality. With Coope Libertad’s help, farmers can renew rootstock, expand facilities and much more.
Finally, emergency funds support farmers facing unexpected costs related to their health or that of their families. Funds can be used to pay for medical care and other necessary services.
In addition to caring for the immediate well-being and success of their members, Coope Libertad also lays the groundwork to help their members have even more successful futures. Their health education program includes talks about common health problems such as diabetes and high cholesterol.
About Obata
Obata is a cross between Timor and Villa Sarchi developed by the Instituto Agronomico (IAC) in Campinas, Brazil. The variety was released in Brazil in 2000. Obata was then introduced to Costa Rica in 2014 by the Costa Rican Coffee Institute (ICAFE). The variety is prized for its high productivity and high resistance to coffee leaf rust.
Coffee in Costa Rica
Thanks to tireless innovations, the sheer number of coffee varieties, extensive technical knowledge and attention to coffee production, Costa Rica is one of the most advanced coffee producing countries in Central America.
The climatic conditions in the country also play a role in the high quality of coffee produced. There are eight coffee regions: Guanacaste, West Valley, Turrialba, Valle Central (Central Valley), Tres Rios, Brunca, Orosi, and Tarrazú, a specific part of Valle Central.
Costa Rica has also become a world leader in traceability and sustainability in coffee production. Ninety percent of the country’s 50,000 coffee farmers are smallholders, and today, many deliver their cherry to boutique micro-mills that often process cherries according to producer specs to retain single-lot or single-farm qualities.
The rise of micro-mill processing, in itself, is a relatively recent development. Prior to the early 2000s it was common for smaller producers to deliver their cherry to cooperative-owned mills. As lucrative specialty markets developed, more and more farmers began establishing mills on their own farms, giving them increased control over processing and more assurance of the ‘traceability story’ so important to the growing market segment. Mills with excess capacity would then offer their services to neighboring farmers, offering a range of processing methods for small lots along with full traceability for roasters and importers. The system has enabled Costa Rica’s small to mid-sized coffee farmers to offer a wide range of differentiated products. Today, specialty lots from Costa Rica are almost as likely to bear the name of the micro-mill where they were processed as that of the producing farm.
The typically uncertain and dry weather patterns in Costa Rica make coffee farming more difficult. Long dry seasons and unpredictable weather patterns have virtually eliminated the possibility of organic farming. Nonetheless, both the government and farmers have taken active steps to protect the environment. Some of these restrictions also inform the processing methods for which Costa Rican coffee has become known.