Hacienda La Minita
October 2011
In the Specialty Coffee world, Hacienda La Minita is a Big Deal.
In the words of the coffee’s founder:
“it is absurd to make the claim that any coffee is the finest, the richest, or the most flavourful. A person’s taste for coffee is in large part a matter of preference. However, there are coffees that coffee enthusiasts have accepted as being consistently superior. Of these finer coffees there are three or four which represent the most prized and sought after coffee in the world. The coffee that I grow in Costa Rica is one of these very special coffees.” – William McAlpin
And this is true. Earlier this year, I visited this Rainforest Alliance certified plantation in Tarrazu and the word that kept coming to mind was simply “Special”. The farm is beautiful – with very steep hills (that were sometimes just sheer cliffs along the road), a gorgeous waterfall, lush rainforest protected zones, a stunning plant nursery and beautiful housing and medical/ dental facilities for their employees. The processing equipment is impeccable- very finely tuned and attended to. All the people working in La Minita were extremely hospitable and proud of their work- as they should be! And the final product of all this- the coffee, was a standout.
I was lucky enough to enjoy a cupping session with the head cupper and blender Sergio Cruz. All the coffees were very good- from their other various farms in Costa Rica and Brasil, but when we tasted the La Minita- this stood out as one of those special coffees of the world. As with all stellar coffees, as it cooled, the cup glowed more and stood its ground as a true Titan of the Table. We were sold!
Our Guest Taster:
Stuart Lierich
General Manager, Campos Queensland
Twelve years ago, my wife Lou and I had spent a few months living in Adelaide. We left Sydney town in a van and spent some time on the road, eventually settling on Adelaide literally because we found this one professional barista who served consistently excellent coffee. This was Stuart Leirich. We drove to the city for coffee every day, paid 35cents for parking, and enjoyed seeing how barista professionalism can lift the energy of a coffee operation. The espresso bar was charged when he was on the machine and the business excelled.
Over the last twelve years, Stuart has been running his own coffee projects with other companies and raising a family in Brisbane. To have him as our General Manager in Campos Queensland is a blessing and an honour.