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The history of coffee estates is closely related to the history of
Puerto Rico. They were the heart of an industry which has brought worldwide fame to our
island for the excellence of our coffee. It is enough to remember that last century, our
coffee was consumed in the Vatican and in the Royal Courts of Europe. Back in the year
1899, Puerto Rico exported 60 million pounds of green coffee to the most demanding world
capital markets, and during that era, there were more than 875
coffee estates on the island
dedicated to the delicate process of elaborating quality coffee.
Originally, those estates were simple structures built with wood -- grown in the same
ranches where they were located -- fastened with wood blocks and with straw or tiled
ceilings. With the arrival of zinc in 1875, this material turned into the favorite for its
resistance, light weight and easy transportation. With the industry's growth, more
facilities were added to the estates and that is how they became the center of economic
activity in the region. We should not forget that practically half of the population was
involved with the coffee industry. One estate encompassed a large house where the owners
lived, a machinery house, a warehouse and a courtyard to dry the coffee, a stable, a
bakery and additional houses. The primitive baking machines moved by animals and the
grinders built of wood and bronze nails today are only but reminders of a good era.
However, one thing has not changed...the dedication with which Garrido continues to
elaborate that coffee which has brought Puerto Rico worldwide prestige for its delicious
flavor and exquisite aroma. Most of those age-old estates have disappeared -- many
destroyed by hurricanes -- and less than 10 remain. Within one of them, the Alto Grande
estate located in the mountains of Lares. Garrido still uses the most advanced technology
to ensure the strictest quality controls, keeping true to tradition. For generations,
Garrido has personally selected the best coffee beans, supervised every aspect of
production, and felt true pride in elaborating extraordinary coffee.
The Garrido name is your guarantee of an exceptional coffee. |
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 When we talk about coffee, like when we
talk about food, we have to distinguish grades of quality; and in the same manner that
there are simple and haute cuisines when speaking of meals, so are there coffee grades
which gourmets know how to ask for by traits such as aroma, body and flavor. What
makes a coffee worthy of the Super Premium label?
The reasons are many. The highest quality coffee comes from a variety of shrub known as
Arabic. They are delicate shrubs that only grow in humid climates, high in the mountains
of the tropics. Each Arabic tree only produces one pound of coffee a year; a limited
production, but of an unsurpassable quality. |
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 Arabic shrubs arrived on the island in
1736. These beans are chosen by hand and are gathered when they are the ripest. The same
day they are picked off the shrub, the pulp is separated from the coffee bean and it
undergoes a rigorous and special cleaning, drying and classification process. The final
stage is what makes a coffee Super Premium the coffee producer who roasts, grinds and
packs it. An optimum quality is what makes our Super Premium Coffee stand out -- a coffee
we guard very carefully from the time it is harvested until it is vacuum-packed, keeping
it as fresh as the same day it was roasted.
The Hacienda Alto Grande, in the mountains of Lares, still keeps a true tradition of quality
which has given Puerto Rican coffee its prestige among true coffee connosseiurs throughout
the most prominent world capitals.
The Garrido name is your guarantee for this exceptional coffee. It is the commitment to a
tradition of quality which has been the pride of The Garrido family for generations. Each
structure in a coffee estate solved a problem in the production of coffee.
The traditional coffee estate was composed of a large house, a machinery house, a
warehouse and a courtyard to dry the coffee.
The large house was where the Estate's owner and his family resided. Manufacturing the
coffee was carried out in the lower level of the house, underneath the family's dwelling.
The machinery included the coffee processing machine and wash tank. By mid 19th century,
the biggest estates had their own store, called "Tienda de Raya," which sold
provisions to the peons.
The big estates needed many mules to transport the recently-picked coffee beans to the
estate where the process of elaboration began.
The primary material used in the estates was local wood, carved with a rustic look. The
wood used for walls and floors were fastened with wood blocks. During the 18th
century, roofs were of straw or tile, and by mid 1800's, using zinc for roofs and walls
began.
Coffee is the product with which our people have most identified, and it is extremely
important to the Island's social, economic and cultural history.
Disuse, fragility of materials, and weather have caused most of the 875 coffee estates
that existed in 1899 to disappear. For the most part, the only thing remaining are the
courtyards, and a few pillars which helped support the big house or the machinery house.
There are few remaining today, one of which is Hacienda Alto Grande in the mountains of
Lares.
The concrete courtyard, called "glacils", is used for drying the coffee and is
in front of the machinery house. |
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