leading with regenerative agriculture

Ricardo Perez Barrantes together with his two daughters Mariana, who's a Q-grader and Lucía, manage the Santa Lucía Farm.

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The mill was established in 2004. Both the farm and their mill are exemplary of sustainable practices. Although in the past it was a certified organic farm, they decided not to use the certifications anymore, but have continued to use organic practices. Instead they hold a Regenified Certification for regenerative agriculture.

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They use both collected rain water and fresh water to process cherries in the eco-pulpers. Each year they plant around 700 trees to offset the carbon their equipment produces.

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Since 2012 together with the University of Costa Rica they have researched the possibility of transforming coffee pulp waste into creating food-grade cascara using modern technology and pasteurization. The process destroys or deactivates microorganisms and enzymes that contribute to food spoilage or risk of disease, including vegetative bacteria, but keeps all the health benefits present in the coffee skin.

In an interesting role reversal, the coffees used here were picked specifically to produce cascara, the coffee seeds are the "by-product" and not the other way around.

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