The last day has arrived. It’s a sad time to be saying goodbye to Costa Rica and Mama Maria. Over the past two days, we did quite a bit of exploring at La Paz Waterfall Gardens and a soccer game! We saw many birds like Toucans and parrots at La Paz as well as, of course, stunning waterfalls. The soccer game was rather wet but very entertaining, regarding both the game and the people. Ticos love their futbol! I must say, I am looking forward to more American food and more sleep back at home. Two weeks in Costa Rica gave me the perfect taste of their culture and gave me so much knowledge on their tropical agricultural practices. Anyways, diving into a summary of the last two weeks, let’s see how the making process of coffee applies to each step in a supply chain.

In the making process, the farm is the first step and probably the most important aspect of the supply chain. This is where the coffee cherries are made, and without coffee cherries, none of the following steps can occur. In the making process, there are various challenges that I wasn’t fully aware of before coming to Costa Rica. One of the biggest is crop disease. Coffee rust is a major problem in Costa Rica, where ninety percent of trees are susceptible. This disease has devastated many coffee plantations, and farmers struggle to combat it. One of the ways to combat coffee rust is by planting a variety of coffee trees. By increasing variety, the farm will know which types of trees are resistant to coffee rust and which trees aren’t. Farmers can then plant the resistant varieties in more permanent roles in the farm. The labor aspect of the farm also affects the making process greatly. Because Costa Rica must make premium coffee, they must first pick only the best coffee cherries. This requires manual labor, and plantations have trouble finding help. I didn’t realize the lack of automation in the picking process before touring the plantations here. Right now, drone technology may prove useful for color recognition of ripe versus non-ripe cherries in the fields. Later on, this may be combined with an automated picker for even better efficiency. The lack of automation has made me appreciate the cups of coffee I drink considering the vast amount of work necessary to get there.

The second step, or the processing mills and exporters of coffee beans have a well-ironed system designed for turning coffee cherries into roastable beans (roastable is a made-up word). What struck me about the processing of coffee cherries is the simplicity of the technology. To make a ready-to-roast bean, only water and a few simple machines are necessary. Coffee cherries enter a large tank that fills with water, separating the cherries that sink and the cherries that float, the latter being of less quality than the former. The floaters are sent off to a different facility for lower quality coffee. The beans that sink are peeled with a simple tumbling drum machine and further separated by size with the use of water streams and decreasing mesh sizes. Once separated the beans are fermented and then sun dried or mechanically dried in the case of wet weather. After this, the parchment is removed and the coffee is ready for roasting. I think it’s really cool how this process hasn’t changed over the years. Companies need little to no electricity and no advanced technology to carry out the processing of coffee cherries. I think this adds something special to Costa Rican coffee; it has a rich history that continues today.

The third step is the coffee roasters. Someone like Cafe Britt needs to buy green coffee beans from a coffee supplier in order to carry out the roasting process. For roasters like Britt, vertical integration is very wise as they own the means to produce the coffee they want to roast themselves. They become less of a middleman between the supplier and the consumer. When roasting coffee beans, it takes just fifteen minutes to make a light roast, seventeen minutes for a medium roast, and twenty two minutes for a dark roast. I was surprised at how little time each roast took and how close in timing they are to one another. This makes me appreciate the precision it takes to roast coffee beans properly. Many factors affect this roasting time as well, including temperature, bean density, and airflow within the roaster. All of these factors make the roasting process somewhat of an experiment for each batch, and I appreciate the consistency of each cup of coffee I have. This kind of consistency is hard to achieve given all of the factors from above.

The final step in the making process comes with the consumer. Once the consumer buys their coffee beans or grounds from a local store, they must brew the coffee (eating raw coffee beans is not advisable). One of the methods we saw at Cafe Britt was the French press. Once again, the making of the brewed coffee takes a level of precision. Lots of precision goes into a single cup of coffee, and I had never really considered or appreciated this aspect until touring the coffee plantations on this trip. The French press method starts with preheating the press with hot water. Then dump the water and add ground coffee, perhaps two spoonfuls for one cup This can vary depending on how strong you want your coffee. Then, hot water is added to the grounds to about half full. It is important that the water is close to boiling but not at boiling. Aim for 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Wait about thirty seconds and then stir to release the flavor of the coffee. After this, fill the carafe completely and wait for four minutes. Then, press the plunger down and pour out a cup of coffee! We can see that, throughout every step of the coffee making process, from bean to brew, we must follow many steps closely to achieve the satisfying cup of coffee we all love. Throughout this trip, I truly have come to appreciate the processes behind coffee, metamorphosing from modest cherries to cups of coffee and so much more.