Our coffee is grown in a rural mountain town of Costa Rica.  This area has historically been known for being a coffee town but in recent times farmers are abandoning the trade and looking towards more profitable ways to earn a living.  From what we have observed, big business has come through this town and many others like it throughout Latin America, to make deals that put the farmers last.  They incentivize farmers by buying coffee from them but the exchange is that they must use many chemicals on their crops, and the rate they are paid is nowhere near a living wage.  These chemicals are becoming too expensive for the farmers, as well as poison the water, air, and land. This leads to declining health of all the inhabitants within this ecosystem.
 
Our approach is different.  The land we purchased with about 1200 producing coffee trees was one of the rare ones that was grown without reliance on lab-made chemicals.  When we purchased the property, we arrived just on time to pick our first year crop which gave us delicious coffee.  This year's crop reflects the work that we did, and as a result our trees produced 4 times more than our first year’s.  We believe this has come from the level of care we have given to our trees.
 
We have very helpful workers who are native to this area and thus have had a lifetime to study the ways of the coffee trees.  They have taught us how to make microorganisms using decaying matter from our forest to nourish the plants, when is best to harvest, and how to ensure high quality beans.  We have spent hours picking off parasites that may damage our trees, and we have helped overall to create an even more healthful environment for our farm to thrive.  
 
After harvest, we bring the dried coffee to a women’s cooperative to do quality selection and roasting.  They are a long drive away, but we are happy to support their work in coffee and many other projects that lift up their village.  They also do a stellar job of caring for the outcome of our product, ensure uniformity of the beans, and roast to a very professional level. 
 
Thanks to your support we are able to pay our harvesters twice the average rate of this area because without them, there wouldn’t be this delicious cup of coffee for you to savor.  We hope that through our efforts to farm in harmony with the ecosystem and local culture that we are able to revitalize this mountain town back to a thriving coffee area in a way that also respects the waters and all other living beings.
 
*All coffee comes as in its whole bean form.  1 pound per bag.