This is the best coffee from small farmers located in the region. The coffee is exclusively picked by hand which guarantees that only the ripe, red coffee cherries are used for production. The family Castro Jimenez, which has longstanding contacts to the small farmers of the region, processes the coffee beans in its own, high quality production facility. The traditionally fermented, washed and dried coffee subsequently undergoes four further processes that highly affect the quality: it is sorted by size, colour, density and weight. Throughout Central America, coffee from Costa Rica is known to have some of the best flavor profiles due to the high altitudes. Another interesting reason why Costa Rican coffee beans maintain such a high standard of quality, because it is illegal to produce Robusta beans. Coffee beans grown in the Central Valley region which has an altitude of about 900 to 1500 meters above sea level. In addition, the Central Valley is where coffee was first introduced to Central America, making the coffee plantations some of the oldest within Costa Rica. Beans grown in this region create a profile influenced by the soil’s tropical acidity creating a bright, citrusy flavor with nutty undertones.