Roberto Mata was born into a coffee-growing family, and has been working in coffee for more than a half-century. His parents settled in 1940 in the Dota Valley in Tarrazú, today one of Costa Rica’s most celebrated coffee origins, and quickly earned a reputation for innovation through improved farm management practices that achieved higher yields than most neighboring farms. Walking through those fields with his father is among Roberto’s earliest memories, and growing up, he helped out on the farm during his school vacations. When he was old enough, Roberto got a farm of his own.

Roberto Mata is the real deal. He was born into a coffee-growing family, and has been working in coffee for more than a half-century. His parents settled in 1940 in the Dota Valley in Tarrazú, today one of Costa Rica’s most celebrated coffee origins, and quickly earned a reputation for innovation through improved farm management practices that achieved higher yields than most neighboring farms. Walking through those fields with his father is among Roberto’s earliest memories, and growing up, he helped out on the farm during his school vacations.

The 2021 edition of our Fruit Bat blend achieves its fruity sweetness in part because it is anchored by coffee from a washing station — an approach that helps ensure all the coffee cherry delivered to these processing centers from hundreds of small-scale family farms are the deep red that signals uniform ripeness and maximum sweetness.

Michael Sheridan, our Director of Sourcing & Shared Value, wrote a compelling article this year for Roast Magazine. Titled “Revisionist History: Black Brazilians and the Past, Present and Future of the Coffee Trade“, this piece explores the intricate and groundbreaking work of Phyllis Johnson and…