Good Work

Sometimes a single experience changes how you see everything that comes after.

Costa Rica was that for me. Up until then, I understood coffee mostly through what ended up in the cup. But on that first trip, I met producers making decisions that held multiple things at once: caring for the land, the people, and the coffee without trading one off for another, all in a place that feels dense with life.

Aquiares Estate is one example of that.

It's one of the largest coffee farms in Costa Rica, but what's memorable isn't the scale. It's how deliberately it's run. From the native trees planted across the property, to the quarter of the land set aside for conservation, to the processing facility Diego has built to make sure nothing good gets lost after harvest.

Because that's where good coffee becomes great. The farming matters. The variety matters. But the decisions made after picking are where the cup is made or lost: how the fruit is dried, how the parchment is managed, how closely the whole thing is watched. Diego gets this.

That's the good work.

For this volume, we're featuring a single coffee from Aquiares, split into two paths. Same variety, same conditions, same hands. One follows a Red Honey process, the other a Natural.

The difference is something you can taste.

Sean Stewart

Folk Founder and Q Grader