Roberto y Alexander Lemus, Farm Toro Guapo y Vista Linda

I’m very proud of my work and am also very happy in Santa Teresa, where I was born and have always lived.

Many people move to towns and cities, or even to the United States, but I would never do that, not for the life of me. In fact, half of our land belongs to a brother of mine who lives in the US, but I am the one who grows coffee on it. 

I was born to be a coffee grower and started working with my dad when I was very young. Thankfully, as I hated going to school and felt much happier in the field, back then at least as much as now. By the time I was an adult I was able to tend to my own land and later that of my brother as well, when he decide to leave.

Sometimes, I work other jobs as well, during the low season, for a few months. It’s nice for a change and also for the extra money that it allows me to make. My wife and I have three children, three boys, who all attend primary school (in 2022), so we need additional income to pay for their uniforms and school supplies. 

Although I was glad that I didn’t have to attend school for many years, I’m very happy that my own children go to school and my wife and I work hard to offer them the best possible education. We are well aware that in today’s world, it is incredibly important to read and write well, and to be able to use modern technologies like computers and the internet.

For me, all that is behind me. I know how to use my cell phone and how to retrieve information about coffee and the coffee market and that’s about all I need. Most of the time, I work in the field, to maintain the land. Keep it clean, weed, trim the plants, fertilize with dried husk from the preceding harvest, and of course pick the beans when they are ripe. During the harvest season we hire help, because my brother and I, together, own a bit more than 5 hectares of land. Too much to tend to on my own!

Fortunately, I have acquired the necessary knowhow to prepare micro-lots and this helps me to increase the average price per pound that I can ask for my beans. Most of the coffee is sold as a premium with scores varying from 81 to 83, and a smaller but still substantial part is good enough to be separated as small batches with SCA’s that hover around 86. 

In the next few years, I am going to increase the part that can be prepared as specialty coffee. It’s a bit like an insurance for the (many…) years that the international coffee price is low, because the specialty market is significantly less sensitive to these price variations. Hopefully, I will be able to connect to a few roasters with whom I can build a stable, long term relationship.

Farm facts

5,5 hectares at 1,130 to 1,340 meters.

Varietals: Parainema and Obata

Shadow provided by avocado, banana, lime, orange trees, and a bit of cocoa.

Certified organic, fair trade, and RFA