Esperanza is an F1 hybrid variety generated by a cross between Sarchimor T-5296 and wild Ethiopia ET-25. This variety is unique to Aquiares and is well suited to the farm’s terroir. Originally identified as L04A05 when it was developed, Aquiares chose the name Esperanza, which translates to hope in English, to indicate the hope that experimental varieties like this offer for the future of coffee farming in a changing climate. This lot was Honey processed and dried on raised beds in a solar dryer for 18-24 days.

The name Aquiares means “land between rivers” in the Huetar indigenous language, and Aquiares Estate is commonly referred to as “Aquiares Coffee and Community.” It is the largest farm in Costa Rica and home to 1,800 people. Although the farm was founded in 1890, Alfonso Robelo is the man responsible for its transformation a century later. Alfonso arrived in Costa Rica in the 1980’s seeking refuge from the civil war in Nicaragua, where he was politically active. When politics soured into violence, he fled the country to keep his family and himself safe after receiving several threats against his life. Once in Costa Rica, Alfonso began building the Aquiares community on the enchanting slopes of the Turrialba volcano, a lush area of forests, rivers, fauna, and bright flora.