Sustainability

We Know Sustainable Agriculture from the Ground Up

Coffee sustainability is an intricate weave of resources and people. It is care for our farms’ delicate ecological systems, and good wages and living conditions for our farmers and their families.

We know that environmentally sound farming and processing methods produce superior quality coffee beans. As owners of farms and mills in Latin America, we also know that supporting quality of life on our farms creates thriving, sustainable communities. The result is simple. The people who work the land and grow our coffee care deeply about the quality of the coffee they produce.

Since 1968, Distant Lands Coffee has innovated and practiced sustainable agricultural methods at Hacienda La Minita, our flagship farm in Costa Rica.

We do not use pesticides or herbicides on any of our coffee. All weed control is done by hand with machete.

The company also owns and operates two mills in Costa Rica, and a third in Jardin, Colombia. Our mills incorporate leading edge sustainability practices, including use of biomass furnaces and clean, renewable hydropower. In fact, Distant Lands self-generates almost one million kilowatt hours of electricity per year.

We are proud that all of our farms are Rainforest Alliance Certified™.

Extending Sustainable Farming Practices Worldwide

Our La Minita Green Trading Division works with coffee partners around the world to transform conventional farmland to Rainforest Alliance Certified. Expanding careful cultivation is a crucial step in building future supply.

Distant Lands provides technical and financial support to help willing producers navigate the Rainforest Alliance certification process. Once certification is achieved, we continue to work closely with producers to help them maintain certification.

Distant Lands provide a secure market for Rainforest Alliance Certified™ coffees, enabling our partners to earn a better living as they contribute to the health of their farms and communities.