Mantilla Fancy, Costa Rica

A fancy addition to our current offerings, this Costa Rican delight brings the beautiful sweetness we’ve come to know and love. Rich honey tones married with apple & lemon acidity. Delish!

In the Province of Heredia at the beginning of the 1960s, the only companies who owned any significant capital in the coffee industry were large private companies and wealthy family enterprises. Small farmers had no access to technical assistance or financing and were severely disadvantaged when it came to marketing their coffee. In the rare cases where a loan was offered, it came accompanied by asphyxiating interest. In this environment, many farmers were regularly confronted with the loss of property and their one source of income, even when experiencing the smallest bout of bad luck. The life of a small coffee farmer was precarious.

There was an urgent need to find a solution. Many in the region began to speak of the need to free themselves from a system that was holding back the economic, social and cultural development of small coffee producers and at the same time concentrating wealth in very few hands, widening a very dangerous social gap.

In response to these economic circumstances, the National Bank of Costa Rica established the Department of Cooperatives, whose objective was to encourage the creation of well-founded organisations, composed of small and mid-sized farmers in solidarity with a philosophy of service over immediate profit.

Farm Info

Producer: Coopelibertad
Region: Central Valley & Tarrazú
Altitude: 1,200 – 2,100 metres