23/09/2026
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• PARTNER FARMER
• .azul
• ALEJO CASTRO KAHLE
• PARTNER SINCE 2017
A glimpse from the past. This is a video we recorded with our partner farmer Alejo Castro at his family farm, Volcan Azul, in Costa Rica many seasons ago.
Our relationship with Alejo goes back to the very first season of April. We fell in love with coffee from his young Obata trees, and the relationship has continued to evolve ever since. Today, we purchase his SL28 and Geisha cultivars, alongside a larger farm lot of Caturra and Catuai for our little sibling, .
In fact, the idea behind SP started with Alejo. Early in our relationship, he taught us something important: if we wanted to create more meaningful value for a producer, we needed to look beyond purchasing only the smallest and most distinctive lots. We needed to find ways to buy a broader range of coffees, and ultimately more volume.
Most coffee farms produce different qualities and cultivars across a harvest. Often, a significant part of the crop comes from varieties that are more predictable and reliable to grow. Finding a place for those coffees can be just as important as celebrating the rarest lots.
That conversation became the starting point for SP. Today, we purchase SP lots from several of our partner farmers, alongside the coffees we select for April. Our long-term aim is to build this into every producer relationship where it makes sense.
The idea behind is simple. It comes from listening, learning and adapting the way we work based on real conversations with our partner farmers.