Coffee is king in Costa Rica. This country ranks third in the world for coffee production. In fact, when you visit many of the Costa Rican farms, you will find at least one coffee tree in the fields. While in Costa Rica, I had the opportunity to witness the entire coffee production system at a local coffee farm. Here, a group of family members and friends work for the joint farm Finca La Bella.
Oldemar Salazar farms for Finca La Bella and prides himself on producing his coffee from seed to cup. He grows the coffee trees, picks the produce, dry’s the beans and processes them into the coffee we find in our cups. Costa Rica exports 90 percent of its coffee and the crop makes up 15 percent of the country’s total exports. Most coffee farms are small scale like Salazar’s and compose Costa Rican trade. Farming and producing coffee takes time and dedication.
“I do it and I do it because I like it.” Salazar said.
I had the opportunity to assist with the cherry picking. In the coffee industry, the fresh produce on the coffee tree is known as a cherry. It is not a bean until it has been processed. After two hours of picking, my group and I had barely gathered enough cherries for a pound of coffee.
Coffee is a crop that must be hand picked and is labor intensive. But, the end result is a commodity crop that boosts the Costa Rican economy. Due to producers like Salazar, the Costa Rican coffee industry is going strong. After hours of picking cherries, a hot cup of Costa Rican coffee is the perfect way to end a day.
Coffee beans drying to be prepared for roasting.
Freshly picked cherries. 
Salazar explains the parts and functions of a coffee tree. 
I lend a helping hand to coffee production. 
Grinding the beans. The tools are much heavier than they look. 
No comments:
Post a Comment