Torrez Villalobos

Farmlevel Story

One of the original micro-mill revolutionaries, Ricardo Perez—along with his business partners, brothers Marvin and Felipe Rodriguez—created the famed Helsar de Zarcero, initially to mill their farms’ coffees. Shortly after its creation, neighboring small farmers sought out Perez’s dedication to quality and transparency. To this day, Helsar’s equipment and facility are known for processing stunning micro-lots from small farmers throughout the West Valley. 

Thanks to farmers like Ricardo and their drive to produce great coffee and earn better, quality-based premiums, the micro-mill revolution came to fruition. This revolution was made possible only with maximum transparency and the introduction of small-scale, resource-efficient processing equipment. Because of this processing equipment—in Helsar’s case, the Colombian-made Penagos Ecopulper—milled coffees use a fraction (1/6th, to be exact) of the water that traditional wet-process methods demand. As such, the “white-honey” process that this lot underwent—leveraging the Penagos’ “cheese-grater”-like demucilager—results in the crisp clarity and beaming acidity found in this cup. 

This lot comprises the rare Villalobos variety, known only to this region of Costa Rica, cultivated by the dynamic team of nine 3rd-generation-farmer Torrez siblings.