COSTA RICABAMBOO

About coffee

Joicafe is run by Wendy Alvarado and her two sisters. The work they do at their wet mill is so impressive that they have slowly, but surely, made quite a reputation for themselves as some of the best processors and producers to come out of their little, remote town in the southern region of Costa Rica. They have definitely brought pride to their family as is easily seen when their parents speak about the excellent work which they are doing. Their family has always been farmers, but not necessarily with coffee as this area was mainly known for grazing cattle and growing tomatoes. In fact, coffee was never seen as a great option as an agricultural product in their area as the Brunca Growing Region had a bad reputation for quality and therefore coffees from their town would fetch unsustainable prices. However, since this particular town at the base of Costa Rica’s tallest peak, Chirripo, named “Vista de Rivas” has the highest elevations and very fertile soils – the Alvarado Family had the vision and took the risk of starting to grow specialty coffee.

El Bamboo is one of the first farms where The Alvarado Family decided to plant coffee and they chose to use the widely trusted Catuai variety. It is named Bamboo because there is a small part of the farm overrun by Bamboo Shoots along a creek which runs along the land. The elevation, fertile soil, ideal climate, and careful management of the young farm has led to excellent results when going to process and prepare microlots.