|
La Candelilla Estate Coffee
Shines at Starbucks
One remarkable family. One great
coffee. This week, Starbucks
Coffee Company introduced La
Candelilla Estate coffee, from
Costa Rica.
"La Candelilla is one of Costa
Rica's first micro-mills,"
explained Dub Hay, Starbucks
senior vice president of Coffee
and Global Procurement, "so the
Sanchez family - the nine owners
of the estate - controls the
high quality of this exquisite
coffee from seedling to export.
The Sanchez family has been
working this land for five
generations, and we are honored
and humbled to be working with
them to provide this exceptional
coffee to our customers."
The estate spans more than 90
acres including coffee plants,
two main houses, a warehouse, a
coffee mill and drying patios.
The Sanchez family controls all
aspects of green coffee growth
and production, making sure
their Caturra and Catuai
varieties of arabica coffees are
cared for every step of the way.
"The rich volcanic soil, high
altitude and dry summers produce
a 'strictly hard bean' with
enormous flavor potential,"
continued Hay. "In the hands of
our master roasters, this green
bean is transformed into a
coffee with juicy acidity and a
flavor that is soft, sweet and
complex."
La Candelilla Estate is in the
magnificent valley of Tarrazú,
set on a rise of land between
the roaring Pirris River and a
small creek - in fact, the
"little candle" estate is named
for fireflies that light up this
creek at twilight. The estate is
high in the Talamanca Mountains
of Costa Rica, in a verdant
valley known for breathtaking
scenery and a region known for
its leadership in growing fine
coffees.
"Our family has a deep respect
for each other and for our
coffee," said Ricardo Hernandez,
Manager, La Candelilla Estate.
"Only the ripe coffee cherries
are hand-picked, processed,
completely sun-dried and graded
in the old Tarrazú methods. In
addition to producing the
highest quality coffee, we use
progressive, environmentally
friendly practices - like
transforming the broza (skins of
coffee cherries) into organic
fertilizer, and using water
treatment facilities to purify
waste water and avoid any damage
to our natural water sources."
Starbucks continues to award
$15,000 for each Black Apron
Exclusives(TM) coffee for a
project that will improve the
lives of the farmers in the
community.
These projects have made
immediate impacts in education,
transportation,
coffee-processing facilities and
the environment. The award for
the most recent Black Apron
Exclusives(TM) coffee, Elephant
Kinjia coffee from Tanzania,
will be spent on projects that
improve health services, living
conditions and coffee
research/crop improvement,
including new water systems at
the medical dispensary in the
village; rehabilitation of the
bwana shamba's house (coffee
headman); and a tissue culture
project for the coffee.
|
|
