Biographies

Our beans are carefully selected from around the world based on quality as well as sustainable farming methods, uncompromising commitment to the workers and sensitivity to the environment.

We trust that you will enjoy our fine, handcrafted coffees as much as we enjoy producing them.

About our family’s farm, Finca Dos Marias
Finca Dos Marias was first cultivated by Maria de Maldonado in the 1800s, and remains in the hands of the family today, thriving under the fifth generation of Asturias/Maldonado ownership. The result is one of the most stable, equitably run fincas (farms) producing some of the finest coffee in the world. Its distinctive arabica varietals deliver a smooth, clean mouthful and a spicy, cinnamon flavor.

While most farms frantically strive for higher-quantity yields, Dos Marias has developed strict methods for maintaining higher-quality yields. The finca is divided into 13 micro regions to regulate the tapisca, or picking process. The farm’s volcanic soil is tested and blended for an essential balance of nutrients, and fortified with natural composts. A rare, labor-intensive method of plant grafting yields crops with higher natural disease resistance. As a result, some plants are as much as 40 years old. Shade trees are strategically planted to allow the perfect exposure of sunlight to trickle through to the coffee fields below.

Dos Marias yields a single crop, but each micro-region is picked up to six times per season. The extra effort allows for full development of the coffee “cherry” and results in a ripe cosecha, or harvest.

Following the cosecha, beans are taken to the beneficio, or mill, for processing and then dried by the sun or by heat using recycled fuel. Before exporting, the coffee is sorted for visual imperfections and sealed in burlap sacks. The Dos Marias emphasis on quality goes beyond just their beans.

Over the years, Dos Marias has invested heavily in its workers and their families. Most families have been deeded their own parcelas (worker-owned land). Dos Marias and the parcelas share their own schools, churches and medical clinics supported by Dos Marias. All employees and their families are unionized and fully covered by a private retirement program. Today, Dos Marias is home to more than 250 families in the parcelas and a few families left living on the finca. The farm was recognized for its fair trade practices long before such certifications were established. They are not eligible for fair trade certification because only democratically elected coops can be certified, not family farms.

Finally, our commitment to quality extends to the environment itself. More than thirty years ago, Dos Marias cut back all cultivation to thirty percent to preserve the virgin cloud forest above the finca. In recent years, the forest has become a breeding domain for the nearly extinct Quetzal bird.

Share our Passion
Dos Marias is more than a wonderful cup of coffee. It’s a history of people working in harmony with nature in a community that values both.