Farm info

Costa Rica’s national tree, the Guanacaste, gives its name to this Core Coffee from the Tarrazú valley of Costa Rica. Guanacaste coffee is produced by Coopedota; since 1960, the cooperative has supported smallholder farmers in and around the town of Santa Maria de Dota. This washed coffee represents the collective efforts of Coopedota’s hundreds of members and of the professional team at the central mill and washing station.

In Costa Rica, ripe coffee cherries are collected daily at a centralized wet will and dupulped, washed, and dried in large batches to produce uniformity, consistency, and cleanliness. The infrastructural design contributes to the overall quality of the final coffee, which delivers the full complexity of the terroir’s fruit, chocolate, and sugar notes. See photos and learn more about the history and operations of Coopedota.

Coopedota was founded by 96 producers in the town of Santa Maria de Dota in the Costa Rican canton of Tarrazú, also known as “Los Santos” for the high number of towns with Santo or Santa in their names. The main Coopedota offices, wet mill, dry mill, warehouses, and a roastery cafe are in the center of Dota, in a valley surrounded by hills flourishing with coffee. Today, the cooperative has over 900 members who actively attend trainings on agronomy, farm management, and even have chances to roast and cup their own coffee as part of Coopedota’s many programs.

Coopedota has taken a leading role in the response of Costa Rica’s agricultural sector to climate change by reducing carbon emissions along the production and processing chain to achieve verified carbon neutrality of their coffee. The Coopedota mill composts coffee cherry pulp, irrigates cattle pastures with waste water, and encourages its members to maintain primary and secondary forests on their property by offering active agronomy consultations and workshops.

Read more about our Core Coffee program.

Region

Tarrazú

The Tarrazu 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).