Los Robles Micromill is a family-owned mill located in the Tarrazú region of Costa Rica. The
family founded the mill in 2000, and beginning in 2003, they started purchasing machinery
to improve the quality and efficiency of their processes. Initially, the family focused on
Washed and Double Washed coffees, but over the years they have incorporated more
processes such as Honey, Natural, and Anaerobic fermentations.
Currently, the mill’s infrastructure includes:
• Gravity station
• Floatation tanks
• Pulper
• Fermentation tanks
• Drying beds and patios
• Sorter
• Peeler
• Density table
• Storage
warehouse
Los Robles micromill is well-known for its high-quality standards and thoughtful
sustainability practices. Operations at the mill aim to reduce the use of nonrenewable
resources like water and electricity, repurpose waste products into natural fertilizers, and
ensure that the GrainPro bags used for packing and shipping coffee are reused or recycled
by the mill’s global partners.

This Natural processed lot of Caturra and Catuai coffee was grown at
the family’s Los Naranjos farm in Tarrazú. After selecting the ripest
cherries, they bring the coffee to the wet mill that is located on the
farm in a close proximity- which adds value to the quality of the
coffee. They float the cherries in water to separate out undesirable
cherries from ideal ones, then place the coffee cherries on concrete
patios in large mounds and leave it untouched for 3-4 days. This
allows natural fermentation to occur on the hot patio. Then they
move the cherries to a static mechanical dryer that works with heat
at low temperatures over long periods of time to dry over a week’s
time. They let the naturals rest in closed, secure sacks with pulp and
parchment after drying for about a month. This method allows the
coffee to absorb some of the properties and flavors from the
parchment that will add complexity to the cup.

The Tarrazú region lies in the high mountains of the southern
Pacific region south of Costa Rica’s capital city of San Jose and is
one of the most densely planted high altitude regions in Central
America, with many farms at or above 2000 meters above sea
level. It is locally known as “Zona de Los Santos” for the number of
towns with “San” or “Santa” in their names.
Tarrazú’s climate is characterized by two well-defined seasons; a
rainy season lasting seven months (May through November) and a dry season (December
through April). This encourages uniform coffee blossoming. On average, precipitation is
between 2,400 millimeters (94.5 inches) per year, with an average annual temperature of
19°C (66.2°F).
The fertile, volcanic soils and rolling mountainsides of Tarrazu are well-suited for
agriculture, and smallholders grow bananas, avocado, and citrus as well as coffee on
properties passed between generations. The spirit of community and family is strong in
Tarrazu, with producers caring for their land with pride. Many farms in Tarrazú include
primary forest and some degree of shade trees interspersed with coffee and producers
take care to protect the natural water sources that spring up from the mountainsides.