On our fifth day studying in Costa Rica, we checked out of the beautiful Arenal Manoa hotel and began our trip to Monteverde. This region is appropriately named for its mountains covered in thick green forests. We crossed the man-made Arenal Lake by pontoon, which gave us the opportunity to see wildlife such as kingfishers and blue heron.

We then met up with our bus, which took us to the Don JuanCoffee farm. Our tour guide explained that most people preferred to drink instant or flavored coffee to avoid the bitter taste but really good coffee is a complex blend between bitter, acidic, salty and sweet . We realized that most of us have probably been drinking bad coffee back home.

Our tour began with an overview of the Fair Trade coffee practices in the area. We learned that Don Juan Coffee produced both fair trade coffee and organic coffee.

FUN FACTS

Premium price in fair trade is used as an incentive for organic farmers to grow natural coffee beans.

Holland and Germany are examples of European countries that take part in fair trade

Next we were shown examples of coffee plants at the early stages of their life cycle, which Sean, Jordan, Armaan, and Federico are holding here.

FUN FACT

Mucilage (part of the coffee bean) can be used to make biofuel.

Next, we picked some coffee cherries ourselves. Brad, Steve and Dr. Attaran competed to pick the most berries. 

After that we learned about the process of producing chocolate from the cocoa plant. Everyone loved the fresh hot chocolate that John and Nick helped make.

Next we moved on to sugar cane, and used a machine to squeeze the liquid sugar out of the plant. Sharath and Arman got a nice workout in churning the sugar cane press. This sugar was mixed with the juice of a sweet lime, which was delicious as well. Finally, we had a great Costa Rican meal and met Don Juan himself!

On the way back to the hotel we stopped at a Mariposario to see many species of butterflies and insects native to Costa Rica. Some of us were brave enough to handle scorpions, tarantulas, cockroaches, walking sticks, giant swallowtail caterpillars, and bush katydids.

Fun Facts:

• Good coffee is a wholesome and complex taste with a mixture of sweet, acidic and bitter.
• Fair trade coffee ensures that farmers and producers are paid equitable wages.
• Price of fair trade coffee is about two times higher than regular coffee.
• The Costa Rican youth does not tend to adopt farming, preferring jobs that are less labor intensive and higher paying.
• Organic farms do not use pesticides or herbicides, and must take steps to prevent the erosion of soil. Instead, they utilize all natural fungicides such as citronella and skunk.
• On sustainable farms production is lower than traditional farms but the fair trade prices are higher
• In Japan high end fair trade coffee is sold for $2,000 a kilo.
• Bananas, pineapple and macadamia are grown at Don Juan’s coffee plantation to bring in additional income.

John Costello, Brad-Oneal Gillings, Sharath Jagannathan 

Day 2 Highland Fruit Tour

Pura vida! Greetings from Costa Rica, today was our first full day in country and it was full of activities and unique experiences. We ventured from our hotel in San Jose, CR to La Cope de Dota to the Highland Fruit Tour, a plantation located in the mountains of the Los Santos valley. The tour started with a quick showcase of some of the 14 fruits that are grown on the plantation. Most of the fruits on the plantation were unfamiliar to me and a few were even exclusive to Costa Rica. Among these were papaya, naranjillas (little oranges), tomatillos arboles (tree tomatoes), passion fruit, sweet lemons, guava, figs, and more than 13 variations of avocado!

The fruits were incredible and all of them had exquisite tastes. Even the avocado, which I eat all the time in America, tasted much better than what I am used to. The great taste of all of the produce can be attributed to the sustainable farming practices that are used on the plantation. Ninety-five percent of the fruit on the farm was completely organic. No pesticides or chemicals are used on the fruit, only mixes of spices, eucalyptus, and rinds of discarded fruit are placed at the base of the fruit-bearing trees once every week. As Olman Serrano(the proprietor), was chopping up some of the unique fruits his farm had to offer. Olman said something interesting in that he did not add a premium to the prices of his fruit because they are organic, but rather feel it is his ecological responsibility to go organic.

In order to control pest problems related with organic farming, Olman uses bio-pesticides. Bio-pesticides include using natural bacteria in order to kill the insects and diseases that would kill the produce. I thought this was interesting since regular pesticides are strictly against use for organic farming, but these bio-pesticides are considered ok in the organic process. My only concern is that things like this could open-up gateways for large companies to exploit the labels of organic and genetically create foods that may be “organic” by title, but do not actually have the health benefits that one would expect to be related.

           The most impressive part of the trip was the hike up La Passe de la Muerte, roughly translated as the trail of death,  a narrow, steep, winding path that took our group 2,010 meters up to the top of the mountain that overlooked the farm. On the walk up, which at times was as scary as its name suggests, we encountered a different type of avocado tree at nearly every turn.  When we finally reached the top of the mountain the views were incredible. It was a great hike, it gave me a ton of energy and I feel like it was the perfect welcome to this beautiful country. Despite the mild sunburn that’s stinging the back of my neck, the first day in Costa Rica was a resounding success- I can’t wait to see what we will experience tomorrow.


Tyler Pepe & Michael Banville
Bryant Sustainability Marketing 385