TWO RIVERS – COSTA RICA

About this coffee

We have worked with Don Alfonso and his family from the Aquiares Estate in Costa Rica for a number of years now. In the 1990’s Don Alfonso launched a program to enable workers to buy homes and land from the farm. To begin with most people thought it was too good to be true, but his long term vision meant that people could invest more in education and wellbeing. These days the community of Aquiares has grown in the midst of the farm and is home to almost 2000 people. 96% of Aquiares employees own their own home thanks to him. Nowadays Alfonso’s son, Diego, manages the farm. Under his lead, the farm has taken a fresh approach to specialty coffee and exploring the farm’s potential.

Aquiares focuses on carbon neutrality and measures its greenhouse gas emissions to calculate its carbon emissions against its offsets. An agent verified under the International Panel on Climate Change verifies these calculations, and Aquiares’ carbon measurement and emissions reduction are part of Costa Rica’s Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action. In addition to capturing carbon, the farm’s protected biological corridors have long ensured the well-being of local animals and plants. Aquiares also welcomes researchers from around the world to conduct agricultural and environmental studies on their land. Projects have included investigating the benefits of agroforestry on soil health and observing the diverse bird and wildlife species that thrive in an agroecological environment. Learn more HERE!