Costa Rica Aquiares
Founded in 1890, Aquiares is one of Costa Rica’s most historic coffee farms and sits high on the slopes of the Turrialba volcano. Producer Diego Robelo, who took over from his father Alfonso drove the sustainability of the farm. Aquiares is Rainforest Alliance certified, has a proven regenerative agriculture model and was the first coffee farm ever to become carbon neutral certified.
This centroamericano hybrid variety has adapted its Ethiopian genes well to the volcanic soils of Aquiares and the shade of the fields. The coffee was dried on raised African beds before being finished off in the mechanical Guardiola dryers. Our relationship with Diego and Aquiares estate goes back to 2017 when he visited us here in the Scottish Highlands and sportingly climbed Schiehallion with us on one of the coldest days of February.
Ethiopia Bette Buna
Bette Bunna, meaning “House of Coffee,” is based in the highlands of Taferi Kela, Sidamo, where coffee production is closely connected to community life and local opportunity. What began as a family responsibility has developed into a wider effort to produce high-quality coffee while supporting long-term development for farming communities. The company works with a skilled team that manages each stage of production with careful attention to quality, traceability and consistency.
At the Taferi Kela farm, freshly picked cherries are delivered to Bette Bunna’s wet mill, where they are processed alongside cherries supplied by surrounding community farmers. Further south-east, in Megadu, Guji, Bette Bunna works with local chiefs and farmers to manage and harvest coffee from shared land, with cherries processed at the Megadu wet mill. This structure is designed to keep knowledge, responsibility and value within the producing communities.
Colombia Carolina Samboni Pink Bourbon
Carolina is exactly the type of producer our import partners Semilla and Monkaaba set out to work with, and they couldn’t be more thrilled about the past steps in their now fifth year of partnership with her. At the young age of 21, she followed in her parents footsteps as a coffee producer from whom she inherited her 1.5 hectare lot about 6 years ago.
It’s clear Carolina is an introspective young woman whose contributions will not be solely in the form of coffee, but Semilla is more than happy to be the first buyer of her coffee as a microlot to be sold under her name. As all of her production to date has gone to large multinational buyers in the region, 2022 marked her first direct sale and one she has said she is very proud of. Having her coffee entering the UK market is something very exciting for us and again underlines the way we hope producers to go to finally get the deserved recognition for their work.
