¡Café, café y más café! Over the past two centuries, Costa Rica’s coffee trade has provided major economic benefits for the country. Coffee exports have boosted the country’s overall revenue, and the existence of a high consumer demand, especially in developed countries, have caused Costa Rica to want to further increase their coffee production. The achievement of these production increases strengthens the country’s economy, and the high quality of Costa Rican coffee is beneficial especially since end users are willing to pay higher prices for what is perceived as gourmet coffee. Involvement in a global market is advantageous as well since a demand that exists globally, rather than simply locally, means that most likely there will be more business transactions taking place. Due to more market transactions, there is a possibility of future revenue and/or net income for the Costa Rican plantations and firms involved in the coffee trade.

Specialty coffee produced in Costa Rica is gourmet coffee at its finest. Costing anywhere from $200 to $300 a pound and upwards, Costa Rican specialty coffee is mostly exported. The small amount of gourmet coffee that stays in the country is bought by very few people, such as the president. It is logical to wonder what Ticos must drink if almost all the gourmet coffee is exported. To answer this, it is helpful to know that even what is considered as lower quality is still very good, high-quality coffee. As I have mentioned in a previous blog post, most Costa Ricans do not drink gourmet coffee, even if it can be bought at $10 or $12 a bag. While tourists love companies like Café Britt who sells coffee at these prices, most Ticos don’t drink it often, or at all. These prices, while they may sound cheap compared to $300 per pound, are still unreasonably high for most Ticos. In economic terms, the marginal cost of Café Britt is greater than the marginal benefit, especially since even the lower quality Costa Rican coffee is quite tasteful and much less expensive. It is possible to buy a bag of great tasting coffee for half the price of what a consumer would pay at companies like Café Britt. Thus, after exporting the gourmet coffee, Ticos are left with great tasting coffee that simply lacks the gourmet label on the bag. This scenario also applies to other foods that are exported, such as pineapple or mangos; in general Costa Rican fruit tastes amazing, and it is easy to find great fruit in Costa Rica even if it lacks a gourmet label.

Local roasters in Costa Rica like Café 1820 use all coffee beans, both low and high quality. Coffee comes to the warehouse from different farms and is then tested for quality control. Based on different qualities, coffee is separated. To create a uniform flavor, coffee from different farms is blended. Next, these coffee blends travel to the toasting room where they are toasted at different temperatures and times. To further enhance the taste, sugar is added to the low-quality coffee before roasting begins. Through such methods, local roasters like Café 1820 offset lower quality with higher quality tastes. In my opinion, what is considered as lower quality coffee in Costa Rica is still great coffee—coffee that I would not consider as low quality. While Ticos do not expect more, they certainly deserve the best of the best. I think that the quality of coffee that Ticos receive is great quality, even if it is not considered the absolute best that the country offers. While it is smart economically to use the gourmet coffee for exports, Ticos will always deserve the best!

Hasta pronto,

Taylor Siegfried