Costa Rica, Labrador Gesha

Producer Diego Robelo, Aquiares Estate Farm/Mill Aquiares Estate Location Turrialba, Cartago Province, Costa Rica Altitude 1,000 - 1,400 masl Process Washed Cultivar Mariana (F1 hybrid) Harvest February 2026 Expect notes of Caramel, Vanilla, Candied Lemon Aquiares means "land between rivers" in the indigenous Huetar language, named for the two rivers that bracket the estate's slopes on Costa Rica's Turrialba Volcano. Six hundred hectares of coffee grow here under native shade, a canopy Diego Robelo and his team have spent two decades building. Since 2000 more than 50,000 native shade trees have gone in across the farm. The result: Aquiares now captures over four times the carbon it emits each year, (certified to ISO 14064 by INTECO under Costa Rica's NAMA Café programme and verified on the ground by a research station run jointly with CIRAD and CATIE). The wildlife has answered in kind. Bird species recorded on the estate have climbed from 30 in 2003 to over 140. This washed lot is Mariana, an F1 hybrid bred for leaf-rust resistance and cup quality, and one of the first propagated from seed rather than tissue culture. Grown under that shade canopy, it lands mellow and balanced in the cup. For Diego Robelo, who has run the farm since 2013, success is measured on one timeline: being here in 100 years.

Producer Abebe Mitiku, outgrower partner of Dimtu Coffee Industry since 2015 Farm/Mill Abebe Mitiku's farm, 4 hectares. Processed by Dimtu Coffee Location Haro Sorsa village, Hambela Wamena, East Guji, Oromia Region, Ethiopia Altitude 2,100 - 2,300 masl Process Honey Cultivar Ethiopian Heirloom Harvest November - December Expect notes of Jasmine, Blueberry, Toffee Abebe Mitiku farms four hectares at Haro Sorsa, in the Hambela Wamena district of East Guji, and has supplied red cherry to Dimtu Coffee since 2015. His heirloom trees sit between 2,100 and 2,300 metres on rich volcanic soil. At that altitude the cherry matures slowly, developing the delicate florals and ripe fruit for which Ethiopia is celebrated. Selectively picked, then dried with the mucilage intact, a honey process that layers additional sweetness over that foundation. Certified organic and Rainforest Alliance. Jasmine and blueberry over a soft toffee sweetness, bright and delicate.

Producer Ture Waji (Sookoo Coffee) Farm/Mill Dambi Uddo Drying Station Location Shakiso, Guji Zone, Oromia, Ethiopia Altitude 2,000 - 2,150 masl Process Natural Cultivar Gibirinna 74110 & Serto 74112 Harvest January 2026 Expect notes of Peach, Strawberry, Jasmine Shoondhisa is a hamlet in the hills above Shakiso, in Ethiopia's Guji Zone. Smallholders here grow the local Gibirinna 74110 and Serto 74112 varieties at over 2,000 metres, where cool nights let cherries ripen slowly and build sweetness. Their harvest is processed by Ture Waji of Sookoo Coffee at the Dambi Uddo drying station, a producer who has done as much as anyone to put Guji naturals on the map. Only ripe cherries make the cut, hand sorted and dried whole on raised beds for 18 to 21 days. The cup is pure Guji: ripe peach, juicy strawberry, jasmine, and a syrupy sweet finish.

Producer Eddy Macdonald Lopez Lopez Farm/Mill Finca Las Gardenias Location Pianche, Malacatancito, Huehuetenango, Guatemala Altitude 1,900 masl Process Natural Cultivar Bourbon Harvest March 2026 Expect notes of Strawberry, Raspberry, Red Grape Finca Las Gardenias sits high in the mountains of Huehuetenango, Guatemala, at 1,900 metres above sea level. The 15.3-hectare farm is run by Eddy Macdonald Lopez Lopez, and preserving the natural environment is central to how he operates. Native trees, spring-water sources and native wildlife, including the Quetzal that is Guatemala's national bird, all share the land with the coffee. The estate is Rainforest Alliance certified. Eddy's Bourbon cherries are harvested at peak maturity and dried whole cherry in two stages: five days on the patio under managed sun, then a further seventeen days on African-style raised beds, hand-turned every hour. The natural processing draws out the variety's deepest fruit character, producing a cup that punches well above the classical Guatemalan profile: Strawberry, raspberry and red grape, layered and bright.