Diego Robelo

Aquiares, meaning "land between rivers" in the Huetar language, is Costa Rica’s largest coffee farm and home to 1,800 people. Originally founded in 1890, the farm was transformed in the 1980s by Alfonso Robelo, who fled Nicaragua’s civil war. Upon arriving in Costa Rica, he established the farm on the slopes of the Turrialba volcano, focusing on creating a thriving community and integrating sustainable practices. Aquiares became a model of farmworker empowerment, allowing workers to buy their homes and fostering pride in the coffee they produced.
Alfonso revolutionized the farm by improving the relationship between landowners and workers, addressing low prices and instability. By allowing workers to purchase their homes, he created a more secure and invested workforce. Under his leadership, Aquiares evolved into a small town, prioritizing sustainable agriculture and stability. Today, under the management of his son Diego, Aquiares is a leader in Costa Rican specialty coffee, known for its innovative approaches to agriculture, including the cultivation of new coffee varieties and experimental processing techniques.
Aquiares is committed to sustainability, aiming for carbon neutrality and using verified measures to calculate and offset its greenhouse gas emissions. The farm also maintains protected biological corridors to support local wildlife and engages in research on agroforestry and biodiversity. Through its dedication to environmental stewardship, Aquiares serves as a model for the coffee industry. The farm’s innovative practices, like the anaerobic natural processing of the Mariana coffee cultivar, highlight its ongoing commitment to quality, sustainability, and research-driven improvements in coffee production.
Mariana is one of the first F1 hybrid coffee varieties to be propagated by seed rather than through tissue cloning. Mariana is known for its high-quality characteristics, including resilience to diseases and pests, as well as its potential for producing excellent cup profiles. This cultivar is also gaining recognition for its adaptability to different growing conditions, making it a promising choice for specialty coffee production.
This Mariana coffee was processed using the Anaerobic Natural method. First, the cherries are floated and washed with fresh water, but not depulped. They are then placed in a stainless-steel tank with a one-way air valve, where they ferment with natural microorganisms and yeast. The fermentation process removes oxygen, creating an anaerobic environment within one or two hours, and continues for 24 hours. After fermentation, the cherries are washed again and dried in a solar dryer. They are first dried on a ceramic patio for two days, then finish drying on layered beds in the solar dryer.