The Torunes Farm

The Esquivel family has been farming coffee on the mountains of Alajuela, Costa Rica, since 1897.

ORGANIC

The Torunes farm is among a small fraction of coffee farms that have been certified fully organic by the USDA and the Costa Rican Eco-LOGICA because they use no artificial pesticides, herbicides or fertilizers. This protects the growers, harvesters and you from the upwards of 200 toxic chemicals that are typically used in the coffee industry.

 

HANDPICKED FOR OPTIMUM FLAVOR

In addition, the coffee beans are handpicked several times a season so that only the ripe beans are ever collected. This prevents the acidic taste and stomach unrest often felt from machine-harvested coffee large farms use that picks every bean at once no matter if it under-ripe, ripe, or over-ripe.

ENVIRONMENTALLY DRIED AND ROASTED

After washing to remove the skin of the cherry, the beans are sun-dried slowly to avoid overdrying and also to be environmentally conscious. The beans are then roasted in small batches to ensure consistency and optimum flavor.

The staff at Torunes takes great pride in growing a gourmet coffee in a healthy, natural manner to best support their family and yours. We have chosen to buy directly from them so that they can earn the maximum amount for their work, instead of passing profits to middlemen and roasters.

The Esquivel's are grateful to be a part of the SoulGives collective in supporting our fundraiser options and are acting as mentors for the small businesses involved with SoulGives.

 

Did you know that each time you buy a bag of coffee, you either support or harm the coffee industry?

The reason is your purchase goes to a business that either supports ethical practices or supports unethical practices, which in the end affects coffee farmers.

When your purchases are multiplied by the hundreds to thousands of cups of coffee you drink each year, your coffee habits alone have a positive or negative affect on coffee growers. 

Just spending money with any coffee company is a main cause of the problem.

Cheap low-grade beans (roughly at $6-12 per pound) are the types of beans that cause farmers world-wide to live in poverty. Those prices are too simply too low. Everyone loves a good deal, but just like purchasing inexpensive mass-produced goods originating from the sweat shops in Asia, there’s a negative impact on the other end of the supply chain.

We don’t want this to seem like an excuse just so you will spend more on coffee, but low prices have made what used to be an equitable industry into a mess.

Here is our recommendation:

Check for coffee companies that are intentionally donating a portion of their profits to either a reputable coffee non-profit or conducting their own responsible giveback program.

You won’t regret spending that extra amount.