Today, we visited a coffee business called Doka and got a tour of the plantation. We were welcomed with a small sample of coffee at Rancho la Cajuela, which was the second time I had ever had coffee. The first time was yesterday, which I did not enjoy much. Sorry, Mama Maria. Today, however, I enjoyed the coffee. The taste was sweeter than yesterday and not as strong. I am starting to learn what kind of coffee I enjoy. The hype surrounding Costa Rican coffee may be all it’s hyped to be. The tour walked us through the process by going from station to station. We learned about the sorting, peeling, fermentation, drying, and storage processes. At the end of the tour, a representative of Doka told us more about the history and logistics. We heard about the delivery process and the challenges that come with it.

I learned a lot today about coffee. So much of this process depends on workers who come from Nicaragua. The workers must pick the red coffee cherries that go through the cycle. It was surprising to learn how little they made. They could get the equivalent of two to five USD for picking twenty to thirty pounds of coffee cherries. However, coffee picking is considered a good opportunity for workers who are provided housing and electricity on the plantation. 

I was also surprised by the efforts of Doka to use everything “wasted” in the coffee-making process. The bad coffee cherries picked can still be used for cheap coffee. The red outside of the cherries is peeled off and used as compost. The husk in the storage process is reused as fuel. 

We also talked about technology. Technology is an important part of the coffee-making process. A lot of the work depends on workers, such as the picking. We learned that, in Brazil, the coffee cherries are picked using machines to speed up the process. A smaller country like Costa Rica has to depend on quality over quantity. Machines don’t have the eyes and experience the workers do. The workers can pick the best cherries. Affordability is also a concern in the process. Drying the cherries is usually done by the sun rather than machines. The machines are more effective, except for cost and proportions. The only potential improvement I can see right now would be finding a way for the machines to be more cost-effective and dry on a larger scale. I am excited to learn more about coffee businesses tomorrow.