24. Marsellessa - Costa Rica Espresso

The Hacienda Sonora is located at the foot of the Poas volcano. The farm is about 100 hectares, with about 45 hectares devoted to coffee trees, which grow amongst the exotic trees and native vegetation on the farm. This diversity of flora ups the nutrients in the soil and helps the local ecosystem to flourish, ensuring the coffee trees are dense with cherries that taste outstanding.

This ecological approach stretches to the infrastructure on the farm, with the entire operation being powered by 100% green energy generated by a turbine in the farm's river. All the people living and working on the farm enjoy this climate neutral, cost neutral energy source, and it also powers the micro mill that can handle both the wet and dry stages of coffee processing.

Processing the coffee on the farm means each lot can be held seperate and traced throughout. This means we can enjoy a huge range of exciting lots from Hacienda Sonora. Again with an eye to the environment, all coffees are processed using natural or honey methods, which use substantially less fresh water than washed processing. Drying occurs either on raised beds or on the farm's terraces, where the beans are regularly turned to keep everything nice and even.