Costa Rica – El Bosque

More about the Mill & Family

The family has been operating their coffee farm business for as long as they can remember. Due to financial difficulties, they decided to start their own micro-mill <Alto el Vapor> and roasted coffee brand <Vamay Coffee> in 2020-21; Mayra Solis (mother); Eduardo Porras Solis (first son); Maria Delfina Porras Solis (second daughter); Dalila Pora

How did they get started?

They started their micro-mill as a family project during the 2020-21 harvest season. Previously, they had been selling through a cooperative, but they decided to make this change because they felt that selling only cherries wouldn’t allow them to build a better life economically. Moreover, around this time, Delfina (the second daughter) graduated from university and began working as a youth trainer for Bean Voyage, and at the same time, the youngest daughter Dalila and mother Mayra also joined Bean Voyage’s training program. In the educational program, they learned about sustainable methods for growing better coffee, among other things, and they are nurturing their dreams by directly applying the knowledge gained from the program to their farm and mill.

Story:

Alto El Vapor is the result of a Costa Rican family business in the rural area of Santa María de Dota, known internationally for its high-quality coffee. Alto El Vapor is a name that expresses the phenomenon of fog settling at high elevations. The name of the micro-mill was inspired by this natural phenomenon, as the overall altitude of the farm reaches up to 2,000 meters.

This project began in March 2020 during the COVID pandemic, led by Doña Mayra along with her son and two daughters, focusing on producing high-quality coffee and providing an unforgettable experience to all consumers. The project started when her children, who had graduated from university and returned home, decided to join their mother Mayra’s dream. This is a family that always strives to add value to coffee through processing, learning cupping directly, roasting, and constantly considering ways to continuously improve quality. As a testament to this, Delfina competed in the Costa Rica Barista Championship in 2023. Delfina’s husband, Eduardo (not pictured), is also the Costa Rica Cupping Champion.

Alto El Vapor is a small-scale project filled with the love and belief of families dedicated to social and environmental welfare. The coffee itself is grown on the Alto el Vapor farm, of which 90% is a natural conservation area. There is also a spring within the farm that supplies water to part of the Santa María de Dota community. The family mostly protects rather than destroys the farm, preserving the habitat for surrounding flora and fauna. On the farm, coffee is located between 1,800 and 2,100 meters above sea level, resulting in Alto El Vapor being a high-altitude coffee. These factors, along with the traceability provided, ensure excellence, dedication, and love in every coffee bean the family harvests.

Given that the family resides in a rural area, they are committed to integrating sustainable development practices on the Alto el Vapor farm. While the main goal is to produce specialty coffee, they also grow citrus fruits, bananas, root vegetables, and green vegetables among the coffee plants. In this way, Alto El Vapor avoids monoculture and operates as a circular economy.

2020-21 was the first year Mayra and her three children processed and sold coffee under their own brand. Although Mayra, as a lifelong coffee farmer, had received awards for their excellent coffee from international buyers, including those from Japan, they never had the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of their coffee or actually taste it. They exported on their own for the first time with Bean Voyage.

The following are the detailed elements needed to design various processes for Delfina, Mayra, Eduardo, and Dalila. Their family business is led by Eduardo, the innovative eldest son who studied the coffee industry and agriculture in university, and Delfina, the daughter who focuses on quality and detail.