$13.95
A beautiful example of a high quality Costa Rican offering. The flavor on this one, starts out with a brightness of cherry and raisin; The body carries it into hints of almond and a little milk chocolate. A very balanced, smooth cup. La Amistad is a farm located above 1200 meters next to the border between Cost Rica and Panama. This farm has been a family farm for generations and the family has kept much of it as natural forest. It is now a "National Private Protected Area" called Las Tablas, which forbids people from hunting, extracting wood or doing any damage to the area. The reserve is located next to the National Park, La Amistad, one of the few National Parks between two countries and is the largest reserve area in Costa Rica. The diversity of flora and fauna found in this area is very unique, with a large number of endemic species that may be on the verge of extinction. The farm itself has a ten-room lodge for ecotourism. The natural tours into the mountain are always done with a local guide and on restricted areas of the mountain. The owners of the La Amistad farm have been actively growing organically for the past ten years. The land that the coffee is now grown on was previously pasture land, with each pasture being separated by bands of forest. These areas give access for the wildlife to be able to move around and still have commercial coffee production going on at the same time. The farm has plenty of shade trees, and in addition to these, a few years ago. Erythrina and leguminous trees were also planted for a supply of Nitrogen to the coffee system, where there was not enough. The coffee from La Amistad is organic shade grown certified by OCIA. The farm is mostly self-sufficient; the streams from the rain forest supply the water for washing the coffee as well as the power source for the farm, due to it's own hydro-electrical plant. The fertilizers for the plants come from composting the waste from the animals, the cherry pulp, leaves, and ashes. The coffee is dried on cement patios as weather conditions permit and is then sent for milling, which is done to their specific and very strict standards. La Amistad Website
