Carlos Aguilar Rojas

Coffee and Adventure

A Central American first

Costa Rica’s Arabica coffee is famous the world over. The original seeds came from Ethiopia via Cuba in 1779 and Costa Rica became the first Central American country to grow coffee beans. Its warm temperatures, mountainous terrain, and rich volcanic soil provide the ideal growing conditions and coffee production quickly became one of the country’s most important industries, funding the first railroad linking Costa Rica to the Atlantic coast. Today, Costa Rica is home to around 78,000 coffee growers who export 90% of their harvests to a value of US$363 million.

Carlos Aguilar Rojas is one of these farmers growing coffee and welcoming adventurers to his Finca Noemy farm in the fertile mountains of San Ramón de Alajuela.

Rich coffee from rich soils

A young entrepreneur as well as a farmer, Carlos’ farm covers 10 hectares and he’s already developed his own high-quality coffee brand (BATSU), which he exports to both the USA and China. Dependent on the natural fertility of his soils for the quality of his coffee and surrounded by Costa Rica’s mountainous natural beauty, sustainability is as an important consideration for Carlosas profitability.

His coffee is planted and managed under natural shade, supporting both crop and soil health, while incorporating soil conservation good practices further preserves the rich fertility of this vital resource. Carlos is also using his coffee income to conserve the natural ecosystem. Planting trees and protecting water resources to support the recovery of migratory birds.

Biological support

At UPL, we’ve been working with Carlos for two years, supplying a ProNutiva package alongside personalised technical support. The inputs we provide include our Cyprosol and Mistral fungicides; Oxate and Diazinon insecticides; Bioquat, Terminal, and Oxiflu herbicides; and our Raizal biosolution fertiliser to support plant growth and crop health.

Welcome interest

Carlos is proud of his project and all that he has built, so much so that he’s sharing it with visitors interested in a coffeeadventure. With a range of custom-built ranch cabins that share his agricultural philosophy of light-touch environmental impact, visitors can camp, learn about coffee growing and production, sample some delicious Costa Rican cuisine cooked in a wood stove, and get closer to nature. We love that Carlos is sharing the important work of farmers with visitors and we’re confident they’ll be impressed with his care for the environment as they are with his coffee.