When the definitive border between Costa Rica and Panama was established in 1941, Jorge Zeledón Castro, architect of the border agreement and grandfather of the present owners, discovered the extraordinary beauty of this land. Zeledón came from a long line of coffee growers and naturalists, and he had been searching for years for the ideal place for growing Costa Rica’s finest coffee, conserving one of the world’s richest forests, and establishing a social model for integrating development with the well-being of local inhabitants. At La Amistad, he found the promised land.

Mr. Zeledón surveyed the border and the land, which he acquired as La Amistad. A portion of the estate was set aside as a land grant to 22 less fortunate families. In order to establish their own coffee plantations, the majority of these families still reside on and work the land, producing organic coffee under the trademark of La Amistad. This allows the smaller producers to realize far greater returns than selling the coffee independently. For sixty years, these families have prospered in a mutual relationship with La Amistad.

At La Amistad’s coffee hacienda and the surrounding communities, we combat this by producing some of the world’s finest coffee, protecting wildlife and natural habitats, using only organic production methods, and ensuring the equitable treatment of our workers and our coffee-producing neighbors.