Today was an exciting day as we got to go on our first site visits! We started the day by leaving Heredia and ascending a volcano to see Hacienda Doka. This is one of the most well respected coffee plantations in Costa Rica and only 1% of the coffee they produce is kept in Costa Rica. The rest of the coffee is exported to chains such as Starbucks and Tim Hortons. As we toured the estate, we got to learn a lot about the growing and production process of coffee. We quickly learned that growing coffee is not a quick process. At Doka, the coffee plants must spend a year in the greenhouse before they can be moved to the plantation. Once in the plantation, they must spend an additional 3 years before production. So, one singular coffee bean that you drink takes a minimum of four years to grow at Doka. Additionally, only a small portion of the coffee cherry is utilized in the drink and the other components are reused for other portions of the production. For example, the parchment is used for the fire to dry the beans. Ultimately the coffee production process is extremely intricate and has many steps that are not necessarily recognized by most consumers. Doka has a long standing system of coffee production that uses no electricity throughout the process. Their commitment to quality and sustainability is what makes them standout among others.

After our tour at Doka and getting to try some of their coffee, we continued up the volcano to a strawberry farm. While the strawberry farm still had a very specific process, it did not require nearly as many steps as coffee production. Strawberries last 2 years in production, but after that time they can just be picked. We got to roam a section of the farm and pick a basket of our own strawberries. They were extremely good and it was interesting to see the difference in the strawberries that I am used to in the U.S. To finish our time at the strawberry farm we got to eat some of our strawberries and try a variety of strawberry drinks.

Ultimately, it was extremely cool to see a more in depth portrait of the production of coffee and strawberries. Seeing this first hand helped give me a better perspective and greater appreciation of all the work that is required to produce these commodities.