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 3: Espiritu Santo Coffee Plantation

Today’s visit to Espiritu offered a very different point of view than our visit to Café Britt yesterday. Espiritu is situated on 630 fertile acres and is located in the Alajuela region (north-central Costa Rica).   Espiritu is part of a cooperative with over 2,500 farmers and exports the vast majority of their coffee to companies we are familiar with such as Caribou (nearly 95%).

The cherries on the coffee tree begin to grow in early March which conveniently coincides with the beginning of the rainy season and harvest begins in early October and lasts until early March. After two years of growth, the trees will begin to produce cherries and they will continue to produce cherries until they reach the age of 25, although overtime, their productivity will diminish.

During our visit we had the opportunity to prune a coffee tree. During this process, the coffee trees are cut down to their base which allows the tree to grow new cherries at a faster rate. After this we experienced the wet mill process and learned how a cherry is converted into a coffee bean. Following the wet mill process we had the opportunity to rake out coffee beans allowing them to dry. Finally, once the beans dried, they were transported to the roasting room, a large room filled with roasting equipment and a wonderful coffee aroma.

Sustainability Efforts

Sustainability was a clear theme throughout the entire farm. Some of their most impressive initiatives included:

• Sun drying beans instead of machine
• Natural pest control with removal of old cherries which serve as homes to the pestshttp://www.costaricaweb.cr/en/typical-oxcart-the-national-symbol-of-costa-rica-labor/
• Use of  pruned cherry trees as mulch
• Use of a chorreador which eliminated the need for an electric coffee maker

History Lesson

The oxcart is important to the Costa Rican coffee industry as it was the first means of transportation for the coffee industry. They would put 10 to 12 bags of coffee in the cart and use it to transport the coffee to different regions of Costa Rica. The present day saying “Get on the wagon” comes from the oxcart’s history. When coffee producers walked next to the ox while it pulled the cart they drank to pass the time. After drinking a little bit too much, they would get drunk and lay down on the wagon. To this day Costa Ricans still say “Get on the Wagon” when they want to go out to the bar and drink with friends and family.

We ended the day with a relaxing trip to the natural hot springs where we able to unwind and reflect upon a fantastic three days here in Costa Rica.

William Allen and Jordan Harris

Bryant University, Marketing 385

For more information about our trip follow us on twitter @BryantSusMKT385

Pre Departure

Hello friends!

We are excited to be leaving soon for our Bryant University Sustainability Marketing 385 course to study the Coffee Industry in Costa Rica. We leave Tuesday morning and will be in San Jose Tuesday evening. We hope to share our experiences with you all as we embark on a rich learning experience. Please stay tuned for a daily blog with pictures, videos and updates on what we are learning.

Pura Vida! ("Pura vida literally means Pura = pure and vida = life, but "Pure life" in Spanish would be "Vida pura" instead, so the real meaning is closer to "plenty of life", "full of life", "this is living!", "going great", "real living","Awesome!" or "cool!" It can be used both as a greeting and a farewell, to express satisfaction, to politely express indifference when describing something or even to say "thank you" or "you're welcome". The phrase has become universally known in Costa Rica and it has been used by many Costa Ricans (and expatriates) since 1956") ---Dictionary of Latin American Terms via Wikipedia

Bryant University Sustainability Marketing 385 (MKT385)