We love to celebrate the awesome things that happen when strong relationships are built between producers and roasters. Los Hermanos Aguilera, who produce world-class Costa Rican coffee, is a shining reflection of those ethos. An unfortunate reality of coffee farming is unscrupulous coffee buyers making promises they don’t honour. That’s not us, so we’re extra mindful of not asking too much from producers early on. We earn their trust first. We’ve worked with the Aguilera family since 2007 and increasingly showed we’re reliable, so a great relationship was born.
Los Hermanos Aguilera own and run a few different farms and the main 2 we buy from are Finca Licho and Finca Toño. The Aguilera family of 12 brothers and sisters inherited the business from their parents, who started growing coffee over 50 years ago. They manage the entire farm with the help of their third generation—the mill and drying patios, fertilising and pruning coffee trees and more. They have a reputation for their deep understanding of quality at the farm and mill level, which shows in the Costa Rican coffee they produce. It’s a big part of why we’re always excited to work with them.
We first bought from Finca Licho in 2007 when it was awarded fourth place in the Cup of Excellence, the very first year the competition ran in Costa Rica. The family used their prize money to build their micromill, which was one of the first micromills in the country and made them among the very first Costa Rican producers to process their coffee away from the big cooperatives.
Situated 1,500 metres above sea level in the region of Naranjo, the farm is located in the volcanic Northern Cordiles corridor of the Western Valley. The family produce mostly Villa Sarchi which is a local Bourbon mutation (similar to Caturra and Pacas) originally found in the Western Valley - always great to grow local plants as they probably like the area! You'll also find Bourbon, Caturra, Pacamara, Geisha, SL28, and San Roque on their farms.
As well as Licho and Toño, the family own 3 farms around the same area called Edgar, Chayote, and Angelina (old school Hasbean fans may remember Finca Angelina from back in the day!). Coffee from all of these farms is processed at their Aguilera Bros micromill and remains in control of the Aguilera family at all times.
If you'd like to keep up with the family you can do so over on Instagram, make sure to give @aguilerabrothers a follow!
