During the last two weeks, I think the most interactive coffee experience we got was Don Guillermo’s tour of LIFE Monteverde. Even though it was not a big farm like Doka or Cafe Britt, it was more personal with the interviews and walking all around the farm. Over the last two weeks, I have learned a lot about myself and the beautiful country we were in. Despite us not being able to fully immerse ourselves into the Costa Rican culture, by staying in hotels, I was able to get closer with my peers. I was able to practice my skills in responsibility and accountability. Some of the challenges that can face are weather, employees, distributors, and space. My group focused on exportation and shipment of coffee beans. I learned that the size of the farm can have an impact on the method of delivery. Smaller farms may lean towards the side of selling to a roaster and distributor to ensure financial security. Smaller farms may not have the funds and materials to support themselves for a long period of time while doing the entire delivery process by themselves, so by selling to a roaster or distributor they are agreeing to a contract that guarantees revenue. Farmers have to plan tremendously to ensure the best quality of coffee.

This project made me realize that delivery for products that farms produce aren’t as simply as it seems. There are several forms of paperwork that needs to be done to protect the integrity of shipment. Exporters of coffee have to organize all the paperwork to ensure a safe travel to the final destination. Paperwork like this includes taxes, insurance, identification, etc. The entire shipment of coffee has made me more appreciative of the work that goes into it. In order to make the coffee beans, one of the steps is going through the processing mills. This separates the skin from the beans and dries them. These machines have been functioning for decades and it makes me aware of how long Costa Rica has been in the coffee industry.

One major plantation that we visited was Cafe Britt. They are a roasting company that receives their beans from hundreds of local plantations and roasts them before selling them as their own brand. They pride themselves on the quality of coffee and the partnerships they have with hotels and airports . Not to mention, they design things specifically based on the location it is being sold to in order to relate to that specific location. Cafe Britt has retail stores and cafes in a large amount of locations. They also often train people at those locations to talk a specific way to the customers to maintain an image for themselves. One thing that really surprised me was that Cafe Britt doesn’t allow its coffee to be rebranded as another other than Cafe Britt, and I’m not sure whether that is egotistical or smart.

In order for costumers to be loyal to the company, the company has to strategically make a plan. This plan involves convincing the audience why their company stands out from others while showing accessibility and quality. If a company continuously does this then they will obtain a steady flow of profit while building a honorable reputation for themselves. They want their customers to see their name on a new product in the store and buy it because they have built a memorable reputation for themselves for other products. Customers control the success of businesses so business has to adapt to their customers. During covid, Cafe Britt did an at home coffee trial and they created a website that allows for their customers to order coffee at home.