Description
Hacienda La Candelaria is large for Costa Rican standards. The farm is located in the vicinity of Palmares, in the Alajuela province, about 50km away from San Jose. Alajuela is part of Costa Rica’s well-known West Valley, one of the country’s most historic coffee regions.
The farm is 150 hectares of blended coffee production and natural forest preserve and was established in 1965 by Otto Kloeti and still today is managed as a family business. Hans Aeberhard, the owner and manager since 1980, runs both a native wildlife protection program and a reforestation program on the property, in addition to maintaining Rain Forest Alliance certification. In the greater community La Candelaria seeks to make an impact as well, by providing economic aid to the nearby rural school, which is used for nutrition and learning supplies. When it comes to coffee, the soil in the region is optimal for growing. Volcanically enriched and full of organic matter that promotes healthy root structures and moisture retention. The region also has excellent environmental growing temperatures that fluctuate between 17-23C on average and an altitude ranging between 1400-1600 MASL.
Hans processes and mills on property where he can oversee a variety of techniques. (This is Costa Rica, after all, where it is not uncommon to see even small family plots exercising extreme levels of mastery over various degrees of honey and natural profiles made at home.) This washed lot is a standard de-pulped, fermented, washed, and screen-dried field blend of cultivars from across La Candelaria