Mario belongs to the 5th generation of Melendez coffee growers. In 2008, he took over the family business by becoming manager of the Monte de Oro farm. Until then his mother had managed the farm alone, since the death of Mario's grandfather in the 1980s. At the time she was the first woman in the region to run a farm, and had to face a lot of criticism alone.
Mario initially worked as an industrial mechanical engineer. He made it a point of honour to stop using excessive amounts of water for his wet-processed coffees. The new Monte de Oro mill was created using the latest generation of machines and a simple yet efficient process, which have significantly reduced the amount of water used for production.
