A man shovels coffee at the foot of some foot hills

Foundational Partner
Montecarlos

Wrapping around the steep slopes of a dormant volcano, Montecarlos Estate is a testament to the passion of its visionary proprietors.

Carlos and Julie Batres are specialty coffee pioneers. Since the 1980s they have devoted themselves to the refinement and expansion of coffee lands that have been owned and managed by five generations of the Batres family. Today their labor of love, Montecarlos Estate, is 500 hectares in size, blanketing the circumference of a spectacular volcanic cone. Among many contributions to the specialty movement over the years, Montecarlos is notable for producing the world’s first commercial harvest of the pacamara variety, in 1992-1993.

Each year, Passenger’s green buying team selects one of the main Montecarlos varieties (caturra, catuaí, or bourbon) to serve as our Foundational Montecarlos offering and as the base component of Stowaway. With each annual harvest, we also traditionally purchase special selections of pacamara and gesha, that have become well-loved staples of the Reserve and Education Lot menus.