Today marked our very first day of tours, and I could not have been more excited! We started the morning off bright and early with breakfast from our Mama Tica before meeting the group at the bus stop. We started the day at the Doka Coffee Plantation, where we learned just how much goes into producing something as simple as a cup of coffee. After that, we visited a local strawberry farm which offered a totally different perspective. Both tours were super informative, and I started thinking about how much we often take for granted when it comes to our food and drinks.

At Doka, we walked through the entire coffee production process—from flower to bean to export. I was surprised to learn that it takes about 50 beans (25 cherries) to make just one shot of espresso. The farm only grows Arabica coffee and relies on hand-picking, with workers selecting only the red, ripe cherries. Because Costa Rica didn’t have a dry season this year, the farm had lower production and even faced issues with fungus due to excess humidity. I also didn’t realize how labor-intensive the process is: coffee is sun-dried for several days and flipped every 45 minutes to ensure quality. Despite all this work, most of the beans aren’t even consumed in Costa Rica — they’re exported around the world, and each country roasts them differently. I feel they could potentially benefit from exploring more automated drying methods to reduce physical labor. They already have a machine in the instance of rain, so perhaps they could invest in this and use it more regularly.

In the afternoon, we visited a strawberry farm where production looked very different. Strawberries grow much faster. Plants begin producing fruit about six months after planting and can produce year-round. The farm uses fertilizers and pesticides to protect the crops, but I found it really interesting that organic strawberries aren’t grown in soil at all, they’re grown in coconut fiber to prevent contamination. The soil is tested regularly, and every two years, they replace the plants and refertilize the land to keep it productive. They also face their own pest problems, like a beetle that lays eggs in the roots, which can take nutrients from the plants. One way I feel that could enhance the strawberry farms is looking into more sustainable alternatives to pesticides, and potentially expanding organic offerings (maybe leading to more profit)

Comparing the two farms, it’s clear that coffee and strawberries demand very different growing conditions and timelines. Coffee thrives at high elevations and has a much longer, more delicate production process, while strawberries are grown closer to the ground (literally and figuratively), and are faster to produce and replant. Both crops, however, are vulnerable to pests, fungus, and weather changes. I was especially struck by how coffee relies more on manual labor, whereas strawberry farming felt slightly more modern in its use of soil testing and imported plants from Chile.

Overall, today was amazing!! I feel I have learned so much about the production processes I would have never considered before. Especially how tedious and calculated each step is, all to maintain and ensure high quality and production.