Costa Rica
Tarrazú
Roger Ureña
Finca Copey
Caturra and Catuaí
Washed
February - April
Soft, Stone Fruits, White Tea
2100 meters
N/A
69 kg GrainPro
SOLD OUT
Roger Ureña describes coffee cultivation in Santa Maria de Dota and his personal experience as a producer: “Coffee growing is very common in Los Santos and it has been passed to me by my family over the years. I was born on November 19th, 1963, at which time my father and my grandparents were growing coffee. As a child, I helped my father in his dairy and coffee fields, while studying at the same time. At age 15, I began to work on my own, planting coffee nurseries. In 1987, I went to work in the US and when I returned to Costa Rica I invested in coffee production by purchasing land, little by little. It was not until 2015 that I had enough volume to process my own coffee by building the Santa Teresa micromill.” Roger’s mill is known as “Santa Teresa 2000,” for its elevation of more than 2100 meters above sea level, making it one of the highest mills in Costa Rica.
The Tarrazú region lies in the high mountains of the southern Pacific region south of Costa Rica’s capital city of San Jose and is one of the most densely planted high altitude regions in Central America, with many farms at or above 2000 meters above sea level. It is locally known as “Zona de Los Santos” for the number of towns with “San” or “Santa” in their names.
Tarrazú’s climate is characterized by two well-defined seasons; a rainy season lasting seven months (May through November) and a dry season (December through April). This encourages uniform coffee blossoming. On average, precipitation is between 2,400 millimeters (94.5 inches) per year, with an average annual temperature of 19°C (66.2°F).
The fertile, volcanic soils and rolling mountainsides of Tarrazu are well-suited for agriculture, and smallholders grow bananas, avocado, and citrus as well as coffee on properties passed between generations. The spirit of community and family is strong in Tarrazu, with producers caring for their land with pride. Many farms in Tarrazú include primary forest and some degree of shade trees interspersed with coffee and producers take care to protect the natural water sources that spring up from the mountainsides.
