SHB La Alianza Madre Tierra

In SHB La Alianza Madre Tierra, “SHB” stands for Strictly Hard Bean, a premium coffee grading term used in countries like Costa Rica to designate beans grown at high elevations. What “Strictly Hard Bean” Means

• High Altitude: Grown at high elevations (typically above 1,200 to 1,350 meters above sea level).
• Slow Maturation: Cooler mountain temperatures cause the coffee cherry to develop more slowly.
• Dense Quality: Slower growth creates a much harder, denser bean packed with richer flavor compounds and complexity

Here is something special from the southern half of Costa Rica where a group of about 100 producers with just a few acres of
land dedicated to organically cultivate coffee along with beans and corn have pulled their resources to form a cooperative called
Cooperativa Agroindustrial y de Servicios Múltiples de San Antonio, Pérez Zeledón R.L. (COOPEASSA R.L.). Producers focus their
attention on farm management throughout the year and then deliver their cherry to the COOPEASSA R.L. mill during the harvest
where traceability and quality control are second to none. The wet-mill is designed to receive cherries from many small farms and
consistently process this well-balanced regional blend. Cherries are placed in a tank with water to remove the less dense and
damaged beans that float. Next the cherries are depulped and pass through a demucilager that mechanically strips the mucilage
from the beans. All of this is done with a recycling water system. The washed parchment is then placed on raised beds and the
moisture is gently reduced to 11 percent and stored until it is time to prepare for export. COOPEASSA R.L. has an equally
intricate model of income diversification with a profitable agriculture supply store, supermarket and roasted coffee sold
throughout the country.