Today we visited the coffee business Doka and walked through the entire process of harvesting, peeling, fermenting, and storing coffee cherries and beans! Then we heard from a Doka manager about the coffee economy in Costa Rica and the logistics of the industry. Throughout the day I was constantly surprised about the information we learned, and walked away from the experience with a new perspective on the industry. 

For the guest speaker event, I was surprised with how much of an impact the climate had on growing coffee. If it rained too much early in the year then the coffee plants would be ripe too soon and Doka would not have the labor force to harvest the coffee cherries. However if it didn’t rain enough then there wouldn’t be a full yield. This problem is only going to get worse over time, and I’m curious to see what coffee farms are going to do to combat it. 

One thing I found intriguing from the coffee tour was how Doka was able to be so efficient with their practices. Not a single resource went to waste, as the old trees were used as fuel for the furnace, and the inferior coffee cherries were still processed and sold. In such a competitive industry around the world, it is important to minimize costs and maximize the bottom line. 

Lastly, I found it fascinating how Costa Rica is able to charge so much more per Fanega than other countries like Brazil. Costa Rica has such good quality because their coffee cherries are hand picked compared to countries like Brazil who is very automated. The technology used in other countries, while cheaper, can’t pick the best coffee cherries, which results in lower quality. I agree with Costa Rica’s strategy of relying on Manuel labor because it distinguishes them from their competitors, and makes it easier to market themselves as a premium product.