José Mauricio Rivera , Finca El Encinon and Cuevas

When my grandfather cultivated coffee, there were no cars in our village and he had to carry his coffees on horseback to town. Now, I am a third generation farmer and I grow coffee close to my house, at 1,500 meter altitude.

The varieties have changed as well. My granddad grew six meter high trees that we used to call ‘Café Indio’, whereas I grow caturra and pacas beans. Small, leaf rust resistant plants that offer consistent quality and considerably higher yields.

I am fortunate too in that I have six daughters and three sons, who can all help out during the harvest season. It is incredibly difficult, and unaffordable, to hire people for several months during the picking season.

And we’re a tight knit, happy family, who share the burden and the proceeds as well. My children often focus on the drying and coffee preparation processes, whereas I feel most at home in my finca, under the cool shadow that local trees provide. It’s where I grew up and I’m sure it’s where one day I will die as well.

But hopefully the end is still many, many years away, as I’m a very happy man and I love my life and my work. I also have many dreams that I still want to realize. For instance, improve my wet mill, which in turn will allow me to further improve the quality and also the consistency of my micro-lots. 

And I would love to be able to save enough money to change the roof on my house, as there are some small leaks now which wet the house during the rainy season. Once I have established more stable and long lasting relationships with a few roasters, I am sure that I can work in a more sustainable way.

Farm facts

2,5 hectares at an altitude of 1,482 meter

Varietals Caturra and Pacas

Shadow is provided by Guachipilín, Guamo, Guaje and some natural pine forest

The finca is FTO and RFA certified.