The Silva family processes the coffees from Finca La Siberia in many ways and they are very sweet, clean, and balanced with red fruit and honey flavors. Back in 1870, the Silva family decided to sow coffee trees in one of the highest summits of the Apaneca-Ilamatepec Mountain Range. They named the 28 hectares of land Siberia, for its chaotic weather conditions, along with its difficult accessibility. A century later, Rafael Silva, brother of Luis Silva, inherited the property and began his career in coffee. “I knew this was going to be challenge because it is difficult land to harvest”, explained Rafael, a fourth generation of coffee growers from this area. Rafael considers himself lucky because he has never had any problems working the plantation, which is a strong mix of multiple varieties.

Ecological awareness has allowed Rafael to put in place innovative ways to produce organic matter for fertilization. He purchased a massive production of earthworms to process the coffee pulp to create “lombricompost” that he uses to fertilize the trees. The farm has colonial practices to take care of the soils. It has natural wind and erosion barriers, and each year they use less chemicals fertilizers. During the harvest period, they employ 24 workers, and most of the year Rafael helps resolve the social issues that affect the daily life of the workers in the Canton.