Don Oscar

Farm

Beneficio Don Oscar - Coyote, La Cueva, La Vuelta, El Limón, Los Arracaché, Los Anonos, 1800, Aguacates, El Llano
Country

Costa Rica
Region

Canet de Tarrazú
Altitude and size

1700 - 1850 masl, 38 ha
Varieties

Caturra, Red Catuai, Villa Sarchi
Crop

January - March
Cooperation

Since 2013

Farm

Beneficio Don Oscar was founded in 2013 and is named after its founder, Don Oscar, who unfortunately passed away in 2016. The processing plant and farms are run by his two sons, Alejandro and Horacio Solis. The plant is located near the town of San Marcos in the famous coffee region of Tarrazu.

Coffee cultivation and processing in this region, or rather in the Bajo Canet microregion, is a major challenge every year. In addition to the obvious impact of climate change and unexpected heavy rains outside the traditional season, there is also a lack of water for coffee processing. This is caused by drier years and the growing communities around the processing plant. The brothers are actively involved in community activities and use their earnings to support local schools and scholarship programs. They have helped, for example, to rebuild the roof of the local hospital, built a water supply system with a pumping station for the village below the processing plant, and contributed to the community's repair of houses after a fire.

They currently sell their coffee to 19 countries around the world, including the Czech Republic. The farm's total annual production is approximately 2,000 bags of green coffee (i.e. 138 tons). We buy approximately 10 tons of coffee from them every year from various parts of the farms, so-called microlots. Every year, coffee from the highest-altitude Coyote farm is a key component of the Era single-origin espresso as well as Decaf coffee (more about our decaffeinated coffee in the blog article).

Producers

Alejandro and Horacio are fourth generation coffee farmers. They inherited their love of coffee from their father, Don Oscar, and decided to continue the family tradition. Together with their wives, Jackeline and Helen, they have three children. They love the physical work of tending the coffee farms and processing their coffee. They are one of the few producers of specialty coffee in Costa Rica who not only have their own "micromill" but also a "dry beneficio" where they can process the dried coffee to the final stage ready for export (hulling, sorting, packaging). Their biggest challenges in coffee production are coffee leaf rust, climate change (especially unpredictable rainfall) and the costs associated with fighting and preventing diseases (i.e. purchasing pesticides and fertilizers).

Processing

Coffee cherries are processed in a typical Costa Rican way using mechanical Penagos eco-pulpers, which are called "desmucilaginador". This is de facto a mechanical press where you can adjust the amount of mucilage you want to leave on the bean with a flap. The Solis brothers process coffee using all four honey methods, which are distinguished in Costa Rica - white, yellow, red and black. Since the relative humidity of the air is high all year round, around 80%, there is a high emphasis on quality drying. It is traditionally done on African beds or on a concrete patio. The beans are turned at regular intervals, in the order of hours, to dry evenly and thus prevent any fermentation or rotting of the beans during the drying process. Quality drying also extends the life of green coffee, which is a key factor for us as a coffee roaster. Drying of coffees processed using the honey method takes place over a period of 15-18 days. In case of bad weather, the cherries are dried in mechanical dryers to the required 11-12% moisture content.

Fun Fact

Both Alejandro and Horacio are passionate horse dressage enthusiasts. They own several horses and actively participate in local competitions in Costa Rica.

Don Oscar

Farm

Country

Region

Altitude and size

Varieties

Crop

Cooperation

Alejandro and Horacio Solis have been our main suppliers of Costa Rican coffee since 2013, when they founded the Don Oscar "micromill" with their father in the renowned Tarrazu region.

Farm

Producers

Processing

Fun Fact

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Costa Rica Don Oscar

Coffee and cookies