Cafetalera Herbazú

Cafetalera Herbazú is truly a family business. This immaculate estate is made up of 13 micro farms (averaging 2.5 hectares apiece), each of which is owned by one of the 13 Barrantes Zuñiga siblings. Between them the family’s five brothers and eight sisters oversee the entire production process – from planting through to harvesting, milling, packing and export.

The family has been growing coffee on the land at Herbazú for over 50 years, but it was only in 2001 that the current Barrantes Zuñiga generation decided to build their own wet mill. We began working with them the following year. Cafetalera Herbazú is now well-known as one of the pioneers of the independent, small mill revolution that has swept across Costa Rica’s specialty coffee producing regions over the past decade.

The siblings’ farms lie at around 1500m in the highlands of the Naranjo region, in Costa Rica’s Occidental (West) Valley. Both the climate and soil are ideal for the production of specialty coffee, and the estate’s outstanding coffees feature consistently among Costa Rica’s Cup of Excellence award winners.

Cupping Date: 

16 July 2010

Clean Cup: 

Clear

Sweetness: 

Full/Mouth Expanding

Acidity: 

Grape/Tartaric

Mouthfeel: 

Smooth, Round

Finish: 

Sweet, Medium Length

Balance: 

Acidity/Body, Acidity/Sweet

Overall: 

Finca Herbazú has excellent balance, with notes of plums and a medium body