Today was the last full Day in Costa Rica, and it has been an amazing experience! I have learned and loved so much in such a short time. I am not excited to leave, but I am ready to get some sleep. As an engineer, I expected to be mainly interested in the engineering aspects of the supply chain. I learned more than I thought and enjoyed the business aspects as well. The first step of the coffee journey is the farm. Growing coffee is a long process. The coffee seeds develop into shrubs that give beautiful red coffee cherries. In Costa Rica, quality is the target. There is no way to compete with the quantity produced by larger nations such as Brazil. Arabica coffee is grown in Costa Rica. Arabica coffee is very fit for the mountainous and hot regions in Costa Rica. The coffee on the farm is then picked by hand, so only the best coffee cherries are ready for processing and milling.
The processing of coffee also focuses on quality. The coffee cherries get sorted by quality, fermented, and dried. The sorting by quality process is a sink or float test. The higher-quality coffee cherries are dense and sink. The other coffee cherries flow out of the system. Fermenting the coffee cherries provides flavor and aroma to the coffee. The drying process has a few options. The preferred drying method is leaving the coffee beans outside. The sun is a free resource, and there is a lot of space to fit the beans outside. A furnace is an alternative method that companies like Doka use. The weather is not always cooperative, and the furnace is more expensive. A couple of challenges are the cost and limit on volume. Once the coffee is roasted for the desired amount of time for the right flavor, the coffee can be exported. Some companies don’t roast the coffee. Exporting is usually based on customer requests. Unroasted coffee is delivered in burlap bags with a polyethylene liner bag to prevent bugs and fungus growth. Roasted coffee is delivered in smaller bags. The roasted or unroasted coffee is shipped to roasters around the world. The United States is the primary importer, but several European countries are close behind. The preferred method of shipping is by ship. Ships are slower but more cost-effective. Ships can carry more coffee and minimize the costs of delivery.
After about 45 days, roasters or customers will receive the exported coffee. Delivery of unroasted coffee can not take too long because the quality decreases after being stored for about a year. The unroasted coffee can be roasted and transported to stores that have purchased the coffee well in advance. Roasted beans are packaged in small multi-laminated bags. The levels of packaging provide a barrier against oxygen, moisture, and UV light. These are the three main enemies of roasted coffee. Another threat is carbon dioxide. There is a risk of carbon dioxide exploding if it is not released. A one-way valve that releases carbon dioxide is a solution.
The final stage is when the coffee reaches the customers. Customers buy the roasted coffee in small multi-laminated bags. The bags provide protection again, as the coffee is transported to a customer’s house and while it is stored. When the customer is ready, the coffee should be of the highest quality. I never would have thought I would learn so much about coffee. I don’t even enjoy drinking coffee. Despite that, the coffee tours were a lot of fun, and I am grateful to have had this opportunity. I have so much to look back on and smile about. I have built a strong connection to Costa Rica, Heredia, my homestay, and my classmates on the trip. Goodbye, Costa Rica.
