Carmen Elena gets excited when she talks about Helvetia, her farm that she purchased with her savings. “I’m accomplishing the promise that I made to my father, that I would buy a farm”, she said.

Carmen Elena has spent all her life in touch with coffee. The memories start when she was 6 years old. She remembers spending her holidays with her grandmother. Carmen learned from her grandmother, who would walk knowing every inch of Helvetia, with a cane.

“I bought it because I wanted to focus on the specialty market”, Carmen said.

The coffee from Helvetia, which has six water springs inside, has a special preparation for the Cup Of Excellence contest. Mauricio, the oldest son of Carmen Elena, is ready to keep alive the family’s tradition of being enthusiastic architects. Mauricio built a wet mill where the coffee is processed.

“We made an original preparation at the Beneficio San José. It’s just in the middle of washed and semi washed and it enhances the quality of the cherries”, said Mauricio. The Escalón family believes that this was an achievement as a result of an investment during the coffee crisis.

The coffee was dried in patios for five days, and rested for fifty days at the Beneficio San José’s warehouse.