Cooperatives provide several advantages to smaller plantations who are willing to work together to maximize their profits. Smaller plantations can’t afford to purchase the equipment to produce and sell roasted coffee beans, so they often end up losing out on the profit that such procedures provide. Working as a cooperative also provides stability for the plantation owners, who don’t have to worry as much about disease and pests, since the cooperative provides advice and strategies for protecting against them. One disadvantage of the cooperative is that the families are giving up on some of their freedoms, since they are leaving up decisions of their plantations to the cooperative as a whole. Without a cooperative, Santa Maria de Dota would be most likely bought up by a small number of larger plantations instead of the tight knit community that it is currently. Personally, my favorite preparation of coffee is mocha.