In 2014, Senel Campos and his family decided to try something different. After consistently receiving low prices when selling their cherries to cooperatives and multinational mills, the family was motivated to try their hand at producing specialty coffee on their own. Senel was able to produce 2 bags of coffee by picking only the ripest cherries, and the experiment was a success. The coffee scored above 86 points, proving to Senel and his family that they could indeed create specialty-grade coffee on their own and providing the opportunity to receive higher prices for their product.

Situated at the foot of Costa Rica’s highest peak, Cerro Chirripo, in the Pérez Zeledón region of Costa Rica’s San José province, Hacha de Piedra is a specific 2-hectare section within the family’s ‘La Tobaba’ coffee farm. Loosely translating to ‘stone axe’, this lot is named for the sharp, tool-like stones found in this area of the farm when the coffee trees were first planted. They decided to name this area of the property in honor of the indigenous Costa Rican peoples of the area and the early stone tools they made and used.

Located at 1800 MASL and comprised of Catuaí and Caturra varieties, the cherries from the Hacha de Piedra lot arrive at the wet mill and immediately undergo flotation sorting to remove any unripe cherries and other imperfections from harvesting. The next morning the cherries are measured to ensure that they have enough sugars for fermentation, and the sugar content is used to create a fermentation plan. This naturally processed lot was fermented for 3 days and then dried on raised beds for 30 days until the right moisture content was achieved.

This is our second harvest from the Campos family, and we’re very excited to be able to share another great natural coffee with you. This is a smoother, more mellow example of a natural coffee compared to the other Costa Rican naturals we’ve offered in the past, and notes of fruit punch, tangelo and a chocolate milk-like finish make this coffee a delight from start to finish.