Hacienda Monte Alto specializes in the production of specialty and premium coffee in Puerto Rico, that encompasses the entire spectrum of coffee production.
Hacienda Monte Alto
Our business includes coffee nurseries, coffee farming, coffee processing and coffee roasting. We are located in the heart of the central mountain range of Puerto Rico in the town of Adjuntas where altitude, climate and soils provide the perfect conditions for growing one of the best coffees of Puerto Rico.
Adjuntas is nicknamed “the Switzerland of Puerto Rico”, because of its relatively chilly weather and high elevation.
In Adjuntas the average yearly weather is 72 degrees Fahrenheit – Ideal for Coffee cultivation!
In Hacienda Monte Alto we are devoted to cultivating high-mountain, high-quality Puerto Rican coffee, and this commitment plays an integral part in every aspect of our business.
Company History
1815
Origins of Coffee Cultivation in Puerto Rico
CedulaIn 1815, the Spanish Crown issued the Royal Decree of Graces (Real Cedula de Gracias) fostering the immigration of Catholics of non-Hispanic origin to the Caribbean Colonies in the New World. Spain had lost the entirety of her territories in South America and Central America and sought measures of preventing a repeat of this in Puerto Rico.
By the mid 1800s, the highland municipality of Adjuntas, enjoyed an influx of immigrants from the Mediterranean islands of Corsica and Majorca. Some established coffee plantations in the highlands of Puerto Rico in the municipalities of Adjuntas and Yauco.
During the last decades of XIX century, the excellent coffee produced in Adjuntas was exported to Europe, the United States and even the Vatican. For over a century this high mountainous region was world famous for producing some of the finest tasting coffee in the world.
1900's
“Familia” Román and early coffee cultivation
In the early 1900’s, Baltazar Román, the great-grandfather of today’s generation of Románs, purchased the 400 acre coffee plantation, “Hacienda Pellicia” in Adjuntas and began cultivating coffee. Baltazar’s son, Ramón, followed his father’s footsteps and became “Mayordomo” (foreman) of the plantation, later establishing a “Beneficio” to process and dry green coffee for “Hacienda Pellicia’s” harvest as well as surrounding coffee “Fincas” and “Haciendas” in the area.
1978
"Beneficio Established"
Receiving1In 1984, six years after the acquisition, Don Jimmy decided to establish a “Beneficio” (coffee processing plant) and started processing and drying Green Coffee from his farm. As the word got around, small scale farmers from surrounding mountain estates began bringing their coffee harvest to “Don Jimmy’s” Beneficio”.
1900's
Green Coffee Exportation
Today Hacienda Monte Alto exports its world class, specialty grade, green coffee to the U.S. and internationally. Every shipment of specialty green coffee is selected by size, density and hand sorted. Each lot is graded following the SCAA Green Coffee Grading Protocol.
Hacienda Monte Alto is strongly committed to produce the best coffee in Puerto Rico “Our goal is to continue the good agricultural practices and the commitment to quality that has always distinguished Hacienda Monte Alto”, says Don Jimmy, “and restore the past glory that which was once one of the most cherished coffees in the world, Puerto Rican highland coffee”!