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La Unión Farm is located in the volcanic lands of Concepción, San Rafael, Heredia, and it has a long and interesting history. Mr. Manuel Elías Camacho Hernández bought this farm approximately 80 years ago and inherited it to his son, Mr. Elías Camacho Saénz, who in turn inherited it to his daughter María Elena Camacho Morales. Currently, Ms. Camacho Morales, her son Fernando Elías, and her daughter Silvia Elena are in charge of the farm, which has approximately 44.5 acres of harvested land, and is located around 1500 meters over sea level.

Initially, this farm was named “La Pulpería,” which directly translates to “The Corner Store,” because there used to be a small market of groceries in it. Mr. Camacho Hernández changed the name to “La Unión,” or “The Union.” At first, this farm was partially harvested with coffee, and later it turned into a livestock farm. Eventually, we turned it back into a coffee farm, and specialized in the varieties of “caturra” and “catuai.” However, in the last few years, we have been introducing and testing out new varieties such as “SL-28,” “Geisha,” “Milenio,” and “Villa Sarchí.

We perform yearly soil and foliar analyses, lot by lot, so that we can guarantee the best preparation of soil, and harvest, care and production of coffee. We use the latest available techniques in the market, which makes it possible for the grain to be processed with the maximum efficiency, and guarantees the production of coffee with excellent characteristics of body, aroma and acidity. We also make sure that our practices are performed under the principles of ecological and social responsibility.

The three pillars of the farm are:

• Quality
• Social Responsibility
• Environmental Responsibility

This family established the Cerro Alto Ecological Coffee Mill ten years ago, so that we could take care of the quality of our coffee. We carry out the production through strict traceability controls, where we divide the coffee harvest into approximately 40 micro-lots, each of which can be from 5 to 50 “fanegas.” Each microlot has its own story, such as the farm in which it was recollected, and details of the process of depulping and drying."