Costa Rica’s verdant landscape is the source of some of the world’s finest Arabica coffee. In fact, Arabica beans are the only coffee type allowed to be grown within the country’s borders—by law. Costa Rica coffee beans are Strictly Hard Bean, meaning they are grown at elevations of 3,900 feet or more. The high altitude slows the growth of the coffee trees, causing the cherries to mature much slower; the result is dense coffee cherries containing beans packed with sultry, rich flavor.

Costa Rican Arabica beans are grown in ideal conditions: they’re nourished by a rich in mineral volcanic soil that produces crops with very low acidity, deepening flavor without adding bitterness and they’re watered by the purest, freshest mountain rainwater. Crops are nurtured by 27 families of farmers steeped in traditions for growing artisanal coffee.

Because the effort at the Hacienda is also about sustainability, Montero reintroduced natural cycles for coffee production. He uses nitrogen-fixing trees and forest as shade. Ground cover is used as mulch to make the soil more fertile. Coffee tree trimmings are used to stoke the fires of his bean dryers. Water from the washing process is used for composting since it is so rich in nutrients and minerals. Montero’s sustainability practices leave no leaf unturned.

Clean and light are words commonly used to describe Costa Rican coffee. In describing our Costa Rica Single Origin, we would add the words distinctive, exquisite—and incomparable.