You’d think that by now, we’d know almost everything there is to know about coffee.  But, I was still amazed to learn about some of the practices being developed in Costa Rica.  At ICAFE (the National Institute of Coffee), a lot of research is being done especially with regards to sustainability.  For example, to dry the coffee beans, biomass — like pulp from the cherries, parchment from the beans and even byproducts from the sugar cane process — can be made into gas that is then used to power the ovens.  Additionally, leftover waste can also be used as fertilizer to help grow the coffee plants.

The innovation I found most interesting, though, was the system ICAFE is developing for water treatment.  In it, water is poured over grass so that oils and other unwanted materials are filtered out. These grasses must be of a specific type in order to support the acidity of the untreated water.  At the end of the process, the treated water is then able to be used in local areas, instead of being runoff into the ocean.

Lastly, ICAFE is also working on making rust-resistant coffee plants, as well as ones that are impervious to brocas, or beetles.  This is especially useful for coffee farmers who are facing negative effects from these problems and want to increase their crop yield.  One instance in which a producer might not want ICAFE to be involved, however, is companies that are focused solely on making a profit. For example, we learned that ICAFE regulates the coffee so that, if it does not meet a certain standard, it can not be sold as ‘Costa Rican coffee’.  Companies that are only interested in making money, then, might want to market their lower-quality coffee as Costa Rican in order to bring in a greater profit.