COSTA RICA | Finca Sebastian | Red Honey | 86

About the farm / farmer

Fernando and Angie own coffee plantations in the Western Valley of Costa Rica. This region has been called one of the most complex due to its microclimates. Morning sunshine, afternoon rain, volcanic soils and high elevations without frost… coffee growing paradise! This region also accumulates an extremely high percentage of Cup of Excellence winners.

Their estate is located at more than 1800 meters above sea level. Their goal is to find the most ideal processing methods for each variety that they harvest. ​

Fernando is an agricultural engineer and has been  cultivating new hybrid F-1 coffee varieties. These have been developed by coffee research organisations worldwide, including the World Coffee Research, with the intention of developing genetic diversity. These varieties are stronger against climate change and plant diseases than their local counterparts while having a higher production yield.

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Angie recently acquired her Q-grader certification. Her tasting skills and dedication means that the quality of the coffee they produce will only continue to improve by combining their knowledge in cultivation all the way to  processing, roasting and up to the final cup result.

Finca Sebastian participates every year in the Specialty Coffee Association’s Cup of Excellence competitions, where only the best coffees in the world take part.

THE MILENIO VARIETY

The Milenio Varietal is a cross breed between Sarchimor and Rume Sudan. It has very good cup quality at elevations above 1300 meters and well-adapted to agroforestery conditions.

The variety was part of the first wave of F1 hybrid varieties created by a consortium including French research institute CIRAD, a regional network of national coffee institutes in Central America Promecafe , and Catie.

F1 hybrids in Central America are part of an effort by breeders to increase the genetic diversity of coffee in the region since the traditional American varieties are severely genetically constricted.