Finca Telia – Herbazú

José Antonio Barrantes Zuñiga (Toño), along with his siblings, established Herbazú during the micro-mill revolution in Costa Rica in the early 2000s. The impact the Barrantes family has had on coffee growing and processing in Costa Rica is immeasurable and this extends to other coffee growing regions around the world. The farm and micro-mill at Herbazú are model examples, both in terms of processing and procedure but also in terms of innovation and research. Over the last few years, a gentle handover to the next generation has begun. Toño’s nephew, César López Barrantes, has been taking on more of the day to day running of the farms. César is a recognised farmer in his own right, placing in multiple Costa Rica Cup of Excellence competitions. Toño’s daughters, Natalia and Heizel, have respectively opened a coffee shop and tour operation of the farm. The coffee shop is a family enterprise with Toño often found brewing coffee for customers. The tours offer tourists a guided walk around the farm and mill, followed by either breakfast or lunch and a coffee tasting. These are intimate events, with only two to four people at a time and offer terrific access to a working farm. On the farm, the Barrantes family continue to trial new varietals in their nursery. One of their latest is Wush Wush, an Ethiopian cultivar which shows some promising results in the demanding micro-climate of Lourdes de Naranjo. The new regulatory requirements for agricultural products entering the EU has also been an interesting project. It has required audits across all of the farms in the Herbazú group by the Ministry of Agriculture.