Mayra Solis - Costa Rica - Natural

Roast Level:

Recommended Brew Methods:

Producer: Mayra Solis

Farm Name/Mill: Alto el Vapor

Lot Name: Santa Lucia

Region: Tarrazu, Los Santos, Costa Rica

Varietal: Catuai

Processing: Natural Reposado

Importer: Falcon Specialty

Exporter: Bean Voyage

Elevation: 1900 m.a.s.l.

Price Paid: €14.87/kg + €0.28/kg shipping

FOB: USD $15.54/kg

Farmgate: USD $14.16/kg

Tastes Like: Fresh mint, Wine gum, Mangosteen, Dried Dates, Liquorish, Mango, Passion Fruit

We’re very excited to be sourcing coffee from Bean Voyage for the first time. Our admiration for their work grew after their Women-Powered Coffee Summit in Veracruz in 2024, where our head of coffee, Mars, was invited to speak. This year, she’ll be returning to the summit in Chiapas, this time to lead a roasting workshop. Bean Voyage has been hosting the WPCS for 3 years, a truly different coffee event that highlights and focuses on producers. Over 50% of attendees are producers and all events are bi-lingual. 

Bean Voyage is a non-profit organisation dedicated to enabling and strengthening smallholder women coffee farmers in Latin America. It provides essential resources such as training, seed capital, mentorship, and market access. Since 2016, Bean Voyage has partnered with 1,197 women coffee farmers, offering $60,800 in seed funding and generating more than $600,000 in farm gate revenue for their coffee farms.

The Porras Solis family - mother Doña Mayra, eldest son Eduardo, second daughter Delfina, and youngest daughter Dalila - have been coffee farmers in Santa María de Dota, Costa Rica, for as long as they can remember. In 2020–21, after years of selling coffee cherries through a cooperative, they decided to take control of their future by founding their own micro-mill Alto El Vapor and roasted coffee brand Vamay Coffee. With Delfina working as a youth trainer at Bean Voyage, Dalila and Mayra enrolled in the Bean Voyage training program, learning sustainable practices that they quickly applied on their farm. Eduardo contributed his academic background in agriculture and coffee, while Delfina brought her passion for quality, detail, and competition. This family project became not only a way to overcome financial challenges but also to add value at every stage - from cultivation and processing to roasting and export.

Alto El Vapor embodies the family’s love of coffee and respect for nature. Nestled at 1,800-2,100 meters above sea level, the coffee farm is 90% conservation land, home to diverse flora and fauna, and even provides fresh spring water to the local community. The family avoids monoculture by growing fruits and vegetables alongside coffee, operating in harmony with a circular economy. Their commitment to excellence is evident: Delfina competed in the Costa Rica Barista Championship in 2023, and her husband is the Costa Rica Cupping Champion. Together, the family has created a project that preserves their heritage while shaping a sustainable and hopeful future, ensuring every bean carries dedication, traceability, and love.

We’ve chosen a light roast to bring out this coffee’s natural sweetness. Expect a fresh mint aroma, a juicy, wine-gum-like body, and a lingering finish reminiscent of mangosteen.