Antonio Barrantes Zuniga

How long have you been growing coffee and what got you started?

“I have been a coffee producer for 41 years now. When I first started in the activity, it was a time when it was very difficult to study, so I dedicated myself to helping my father attending the family farm. Soon, suggested to plant new areas with coffee. This is how, from the hand of my father, little by little I began to learn the secrets to growing excellent coffee.”

What is your favorite part of growing coffee?

“It is hard for me to choose which is the favorite part, because everything in a coffee plantation is beautiful, like the moment of flowering. However, I think that the moment I like the most, is when the coffee begins to mature because of the way the coffee beans stand out from the green of the leaves.”

Conversely, what is the hardest part of your job?

“The hardest part is the harvest period, because many people have to be dealt with at the same time as they are picking the coffee. Certainly, it causes a lot of stress while been attentive to the quality of the coffee that each worker is picking, because the optimal ripening stage is essential to guarantee the highest quality for the product that our customers expect.”

What is unique about how you grow and harvest coffee?

“The special thing we do is the way we work our lands. We only use inputs with no or very low impact on the environment and on the life of our soils; therefore, we do not use herbicides either. The attention to all the details, and the ability to collect only fruits at their optimum level of maturity, allow us to give sustainability to the production and quality of our coffee.”

What are your plans to continue improving quality?

“To continue improving quality, we are convinced of the fundamental role played by the health, vigor and strength of our coffee plantation, for this reason we maintain a program of continuous renewal of coffee trees, and the introduction of new varieties with exquisite cup profiles. We also focus on every detail of the milling process, and incorporate improvements with different methods to achieve the maximum flavor and aroma potential of each grain.”