Yet another delicious coffee from our friends at Aquiares, Esperanza Natural brings a nuanced creamy fruitiness that you won"t want to miss. Costa Rican coffees (and Central American coffees in general) can represent a lot of problematic things about the coffee supply chain: For example, many farms in Central America are owned by wealthy Westerners who have access to capital and marketing that allows them to sell their coffees at prices that indigenous people could never achieve. This coffee is different, and it represents the sort of de-colonisation of the coffee supply chain that we want to support. Aquiares is a Costa Rican legacy farm, and they"ve set an absolute gold standard in how they treat people and the planet. The way they increase biodiversity, capture carbon, and care for both Costa Rican and migrant workers is a testament to how coffee CAN change people"s lives. In fact, Diego Robelo is more like a town mayor than a coffee farmer, and our colleague Will recently visited to write about this expansive community. Aquiares also produces delicious, consistent coffees like this one with sweetly balanced notes of strawberry cream and tayberry. Juicy, smooth, and sweet — it"s a special treat to have any time of day. We"ve bought coffee from Aquiares since our first year at Skylark, but we are delighted to partner with them more fully for the first time in 2025 as well as for the foreseeable future. We plan to have their coffee on offer year-round as a staple to support the amazing work they do.