Matriarch Series - Costa Rica, Doña María Elena
ORIGINALLY RELEASED
June 2024
HIGHLIGHTS
Matriarch Series: Showcases coffee produced by women
Origin: Costa Rica - Zarcero, West Valley
Family Owned-Farm Operated by Doña María Elena
From: Coffee Shrub’s Farm Gate Program
WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT
This is truly a delightful medium roast Costa Rican coffee - for folks drinking drip, you’ll get a nice clean cup with hints of raw sugar, mild spice, and dark cocoa dusted almonds. For those pulling espresso, these beans are naturally big on body and cocoa flavors, and will do beautifully as straight shots but extra tasty paired with your favorite milk as an iced latte (it’s summer after all!).
ORIGIN STORY
Our MATRIARCH SERIES highlights coffees produced by women. These beans were grown on Finca La Salaca, a farm owned and operated by Doña María Elena.
In the 90s, it was Doña’s initial idea to plant coffee that led to the birth of Finca La Salaca. The farm sits on the lush mountainous slopes of Zarcero in the West Valley. Today, this region isone of the premier coffee-growing regions in the country. It’s known amongst the specialty coffee community for its distinct microclimate - volcanic soil, mild climate, and high altitude make for a delicious cup.
In 2011, after years of delivering her beans to other mills and cooperatives for processing, Doña led the charge for the family to start their own micromill, Beneficio Monte Brisas. With ownership of both the farm and mill, the family has more control over the quality of their product and opportunities to generate revenue.
Today, the operation’s a family affair - Doña oversees all agricultural and technical processes of coffee production, primarily with help from her daughter-in-law, Marícruz. Her son Luis supports during the high season.
The coffee is part of Coffee Shrub’s direct trade buying program called “Farm Gate.” Through this program, Sweet Maria’s & Coffee Shrub are committed to paying coffee producers premium prices for quality coffee. Programs like Farm Gate ensure farmers have enough margin to actually reinvest their earnings and improve their quality over time. At a minimum, Sweet Maria’s & Coffee Shrub’s Farm Gate guarantees prices that are 50% over Fair Trade (FT) pricing, but oftentimes, the prices are 100%+ more that FT minimums.
MORE ABOUT THE MATRIARCH SERIES
Our Matriarch Series exclusively highlights coffee from female producers worldwide. Women play a major role in coffee production, often performing the hardest and most critical manual labor, while juggling their responsibilities of managing the household. These superwomen not only rarely get the spotlight, they also lack the same access to capital and resources as their male counterparts. Our intent with this series is to not only celebrate the amazing women in the coffee supply chain, but also to ensure they are paid a premium for their hard work and to work directly with organizations that have committed to improving equity for women in the coffee value chain wherever possible.
