Start with the choicest coffee plants...

Roughly 90% of the coffee grown in the Dominican Republic is the Typica variety. Many of the plants found on small coffee farms in the DR are direct descendants of those brought to the New World more than 265 years ago. Young Typica seedlings, hand-raised in rural nurseries, are planted with care to continue this tradition of quality.

...grown in the shade of sheltering trees.

Specialty coffee in the DR is almost exclusively shade-grown, under a canopy that includes native pine, Inga spp., guava, and macadamia trees. The trees protect the coffee from the harshest rays of the sun, while at the same time providing natural habitat for birds and other wildlife.

Nurture the coffee organically...

Nearly all the specialty coffee grown in the Dominican Republic is organically grown. An increasing number of farms are receiving official organic certification by international organizations such as Germany’s BCS.

...and cultivate it in an environmentally friendly fashion.

Wastes from the milling process are typically turned by farmers into rich compost that is used as fertilizer for their coffee plants.  Recently, many biodigesters have been created to recycle the residuals of the depulping process and produce bio-gas that can be used by the community. Producers have also developed ecological wet benefits that require smaller amounts of water diminishing contamination.

Careful pruning promotes healthy plants and reduces disease, eliminating the need for pesticides. Cuttings from each pruning also are used to create and maintain terraced barriers that prevent soil erosion on steep mountain slopes.

Hand-pick the coffee cherries at their peak of ripeness...

All specialty coffee from the Dominican Republic is picked by hand. Highly skilled pickers remove only the red cherries on each pass through the coffee during the extended harvest season. This labor-intensive approach insures the highest quality product.

...and process them quickly, with equal care.

Coffee produced for the specialty market in the DR is wet processed—ecologically hulled in small mills—within 24 hours of being picked. The beans are then washed in clean, fresh water to remove all traces of mucilage.

Dry the coffee beans in the tropical sun...

Spread out on clean cement patios, the freshly washed beans are solar-dried under the bright Caribbean sun. They are turned frequently by hand to insure uniform drying, down to a humidity content of roughly 12%.

...and select only the finest beans for export as “DR specialty coffee.”

Most small DR coffee growers sell their dried coffee still in parchment. In a dry mill, a series of machines classify and separate the beans by quality. Only the largest and best beans are destined to become specialty coffee. After machine separation, these beans may also pass through a hand-separation process. This final step assures an exceptional product.