While today’s tour was largely review in terms of the actual process of producing coffee, we got to see a whole new perspective on the economic side of bean distribution. Whereas Doka was a mega crop, Life Monteverde was a humble artisan crop, and Britt was a grinder/roaster/producer, Coopedota acted more as an alliance between a variety of humble farms, with some of the roasting/grinding being done in-house. Still, exportation of whole beans was a large part of the process, with the vast majority of their product going to larger nations, as has been the pattern thus far. Another commonality between Coopedota and the other plants is the emphasis on the high quality that is synonymous with Costa Rica. This sort of approach to the beans themselves explains why the actual cultivation was very similar to that of both the Central Valley and Monteverde.

What stood out about the Coopedota cooperative was how they applied democracy to the industry of small-scale coffee crop growing. Our guide made a strong point to explain the one farm: one vote system, which operated a lot like the U.S. Senate (my writing is definitely not influenced by the fact that it is primary election day), where farms get equal representation, regardless of size. This means that the societal role of Coopedota was to preserve the voice of those who generally hold less financial power, which seems to correlate with many of the political attitudes of the nation as a whole. Considering that the café itself is notable for being a meeting place in the town, it is quite possible that the locals view the organization as a symbol of unity for all, not to mention that it offers local pride.

If it were not for Coopedota, it is reasonable to believe that the community of Santa María de Dota would be much weaker, especially in terms of their economic power, if their segmented farms were forced to operate independently. One of the main advantages brought about by Coopedota is the power of economies of scale, where the roasting and packing processes are made more efficient by processing more beans at once. I imagine that some other things like transportation, legislation, and general organization are largely aided by the organization. The only possible detriment that comes to my mind is that these kinds of organizations can create bureaucratic friction for small farms, which was a problem that arose during a past research project that I did about Polish agricultural organizations.

Regardless of the economics of how the coffee comes to be, I am personally grateful for the combination of natural-processed dark roast beans as my favorite form of preparation. ¡A veces, los detalles son los más importantes para la produción de un producto!