One of the largest and most impressive coffee plantations in Costa Rica, owned by a single individual in the Heredia Province. The sale price includes a fully equipped processing plant (beneficio) for premium coffee. The operation consists of two farms, which can be sold together or separately as follows:
Farm 1 – 250 hectares – $18,500,000 – including the coffee processing plant.
Farm 2 – 131 hectares – $4,750,000.
TOTAL: 381 hectares – $23,250,000.
The coffee farms for sale in Heredia are owned by multigenerational coffee-growing families and are planted with high-quality SHB Estate Coffee. Located in the volcanic mountains of Heredia, northeast of Costa Rica’s capital, San José, this region is renowned in the Central Valley for cultivating high-altitude, premium coffee.
In the 19th century, on the highlands of Heredia, a family member planted the first coffee plant on one of the farms. He cultivated it patiently, caring for it day after day until a healthy coffee shrub blossomed and produced some of the finest beans in the world. This tradition began back in 1876, marking the start of the family’s coffee heritage. Today, you can find the same outstanding coffee grown on the family estate, now in the hands of the sixth generation.
Features:
These coffee farms have a long-standing tradition driven by a pursuit of perfection and total quality.
• Soils: The farms produce their coffee in deep, rich volcanic soils.
• Climate Conditions: The Heredia region offers ideal climatic conditions for producing the best coffee: cool temperatures (18-23°C), perfect rainfall patterns (2,200 mm/year), clean mountain air, and pristine rainwater.
• Altitude: Coffee is grown at elevations ranging from 1,250 to 1,600 meters above sea level. It is well known that the higher the altitude, the better the quality. This is because the slower maturation process allows the beans more time to develop their acidity, body, and aroma fully.
• Coffee Varieties: Only the highest quality varieties, Caturra and Catuai, are cultivated on the estate. These varieties deliver excellent cup quality. Additionally, new rust-resistant varieties such as Obatá and Catiguá are being planted to renew the plantation. All these factors contribute to creating a unique and outstanding cup of coffee, characterized by pronounced acidity, a strong body, and a sweet aroma—the very best Costa Rica has to offer.
Processing:
The high-quality coffee is carefully processed using the Wet Method, which best preserves the intrinsic quality of this exceptional coffee:
• After hand-harvesting ripe cherry coffee, the pulp is removed. This step is the key difference between dry and wet processing, as in the wet method, the pulp is separated from the beans before drying. Pulping is done with a machine that presses the cherries between fixed and moving surfaces. The pulp and fruit skin are composted and used as fertilizer on the farms, while the beans, wrapped in their mucilaginous parchment layer, are set aside. The gap between the surfaces is adjusted to avoid damaging the beans.
• The depulped beans are then passed through machines that quickly remove the mucilage surrounding them. At this stage, the wet parchment coffee contains about 57% moisture. To reduce moisture to an optimal 12%, the parchment coffee is dried in Guardiolas (mechanical cylindrical dryers). After drying, the parchment coffee is stored and rested for 8 weeks.
• In the final stage, the coffee is hulled to remove the parchment, then undergoes screening, grading, and color sorting to prepare it for export. All these processing stages are closely monitored to ensure the coffee’s quality is never compromised.
All coffee processing methods are environmentally friendly. Wastewater generated during processing is recycled, fully treated, and purified before being released into the environment.
Social Responsibility:
The owners prioritize the well-being of the families working on the farms by providing free housing, running water, and electricity. Farm workers earn some of the highest wages in the global coffee industry and are proud of it. The family has also played a key role in facilitating medical services, education, and sports facilities for all agricultural workers.
Environmental Responsibility:
Preserving the environment is of utmost importance on these coffee farms. The owners are committed to producing coffee in harmony with nature and sustainably. To protect soils from erosion and prevent watershed contamination, coffee is planted along contours following the natural slope of the land.
• The cherry pulp waste from the wet process is used as organic fertilizer on the plantation.
• The dried parchment removed during hulling is used as fuel for the mechanical dryers.
• As previously mentioned, wastewater from processing is recycled, fully treated, and purified before release.
• The coffee is produced adhering to the highest ethical standards and social and environmental principles.
Tasting this exceptional coffee is an experience that encompasses many elements: the rich, ancient tradition of family-grown coffee, the deep volcanic soils, the high-altitude cultivation, the cup quality of 100% Arabica varieties, the perfect climatic conditions influenced by the mountain range where the farms are located, and systems of coffee production in total harmony with the highest social and environmental ethics. The combination of all these factors results in a unique coffee—the finest produced in Costa Rica.