Costa Rica - Diego Robelo - Mariana Natural

The world's newest cultivar: Mariana

This coffee, cultivated by Diego Robelo at Aquiares Estate is the latest invention in coffee cultivation. This cultivar is a cross between IAPAR 59 and a male-sterile Ethiopian landrace variety, and is one of the first F1 hybrids in the world to be propagated by seed rather than through tissue cloning.

This makes this climate-resilient and productive very attractive for coffee farms as the planting costs can be lower than other F1 Hybrids. Added bonus: It absolutely shines in the natural and more aggressive fermentation method due to the high sugar content. 

Coffee highlights

Taste profile: Thick and rich with notes of maple syrup, dates and fresh grapefruit.
Processing: method: Natural
Bean origin: Turrialba, Costa Rica
Variety: Mariana
Harvest season: January 2024
Altitude: 1,100 – 1,400masl

Why choose the Mariana Natural?

1. A pioneering cultivar. 

   This cultivar is at the fore-front of coffee breeding and may hold the key to more climate resilient coffee production. 

2. Rich flavor profile

   Full of sweetness and delicate fruity notes this coffee shines as both filter and espresso.

3. Sustainable innovation

   Diego Robelo's innovative approach has turned around a traditional farm into a specialty coffee example farm.

Brewing tips for Costa Rica Mariana Natural.

This coffee works for both espresso and filter coffee.

From farm to coffee cup – the story of Mariana Natural

Currently Aquiares is one of the few farms in the world to produce the Mariana F1 Hybrid. The plant was initially developed at a research lab in Nicaragua by manually pollinating coffee flowers of the Iapar 59 (itself an introgressed Sarchimor hybrid) and a male sterile Ethiopian landrace variety. This cross combines the resistant and productive characteristics of the Iapar59 with the excellent quality potential of the Ethiopian landrace variety.

This technique has been used to create other popular F1 hybrids such as Centroamericano and Esperanza. Mariana, however has an additional layer of uniqueness. It is the only F1 hybrid in the world that can be propogated by seed. Normally such a cross results in the offspring being sterile as happens with for example, mules as well. The combined genetics are so introgressed that further procreation is genetically impossible.

With Mariana, this is not the case as one of the parent plants is already male sterile. The exact science of this goes well beyond the scope of a coffee product page, but the implication for the coffee farming community is huge as this may make excellent varieties available at a fraction of the cost they used to be. We are proud that Aquiares is an active participant in the development of this plant through their partnership with World Coffee Research. 

The processing that was selected for this lot is the Thermal Shock process. The name thermal shocks stems from the intensity of the temperature during the fermentation process. The freshly harvested cherries are cleaned with spring water to remove any impurities and then rolled up in a plastic sheet to stimulate the fermentation which causes temperatures of up to 65 degrees celsius. In the controlled environment of the greenhouse this process lasts 72 hours after which the coffee is taken out of the rolled up plastic and dried on raised beds inside the green house for 15 days. Once drying is completed the coffee is rested for three months before export. 

Coffee roasting details

The coffee is roasted fast and light to highlight the floral notes.

• Roast Profile: Light roast at 201.1°C in 9 and a half minutes with a 30 second development time.

Ethical and Sustainable Practices

At Aquiares, sustainability goes beyond farming:

• The farm is Rain Forest Alliance and Carbon Neutral certified.
• Education, health care and child care is offered to all farm-workers.
• Coffee is shade-grown and forms a natural habitat for wild life.