Coffee
re-engineered
Valle de oro is our Avant-garde farm. Everything from the varietals chosen, technology, techniques used and processing are cutting-edge. It's a farm unlike any other, where we constantly strive for a better way to grow delicious coffee.
A better way to grow coffee means a more responsible way to grow coffee, a more efficient way to grow coffee, a more sustainable way to grow coffee and it also means a more ethical way to grow coffee. We believe that by striving to achieve these goals our coffee will not only be better grown but tastier too!
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Altitude: 1,050 masl
Varietals: Marsellesa
Región: Ilamatepec mountain range
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31,746, 000 Kg
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Marsellesa Washed: 12,452 kg
Marsellesa Natural: 19,802 kg
Last update: 2/18/2023
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Coffee harvest takes place from late November to late January.
Coffee will be ready to ship from march to April.
Status: Harvest 2023 Complete
Efficiency
We’re firm believers of the work smarter not harder mentality. Wether it’s a drone to fertilize, a satellite to monitor soil conditions or something as simple as a truck to help workers not carry the heavy coffee bags during harvest, we’re always looking at ways to make things easier for everyone. Using a satellite helps us have realtime insights into how the soil is doing and know exactly how much nutrients it needs, this is not just cool, it helps us use just what we need and reduce excess. The drone helps us measure and apply the exact amount needed per plot and our built in road network and truck helps us take some weight off the back of our workers and be much faster during harvest.
Sustainability
We don’t use herbicides nor pesticides, and we use only the specific amount of fertiliser needed so that our plants and soil stay healthy. Since we don’t use herbicides, our topsoil is covered with indigenous weeds and grasses which coincidentally are the natural habitat of grasshoppers that normally love to munch on coffee leaves. With a steady amount of food, there’s no need to use insecticides or insect traps. Our satellite systems tell us exactly how much fertiliser to use during the year and which type, therefore we can replace chemical fertilisers withs natural ones like coffee pulp when we can.
Ethicacy
Although it is true Valle de Oro hires significantly less workers than comparable farms, it’s also true that we pay those workers significantly better than comparable farms. The efficiency mentioned above allows us to focus on fewer workers and invest in their technical training giving them the knowledge they need to help us grow and process delicious coffee. In these times of inflation we’ve also allowed them to use the land in between lots for growing organic vegetables and grains. This is a win-win for workers and land as they get food that otherwise gets more expensive each year, and the land reaps nutrients like free nitrogen produced by kidney beans. These crops also help maintain a delicate network of mycelia underneath the soil. We also encourage our workers to start a bank account where their money is deposited on time and they run fewer risks of getting mugged on their way home.
Processing
Valle de Oro is also the place where we process our award winning lots from Finca La Pacaya. Valle de Oro houses a sophisticated drying greenhouse where we’re able to measure and maintain temperature and humidity to create the optimal coffee drying conditions. We also experiment with fermentation processes for the farm’s coffees.
