Today, we had the pleasure of attending an informational lecture about Café Britt, a Costa Rica based coffee and chocolate company, and taking a tour of each step in the coffee production process. Throughout the tour, we were able to taste test several types of coffee, from light to dark roast, and their various different blends. Our tour guide thoroughly explained each step, and why Britt’s tedious process is crucial for ensuring a high-quality product. While on the tour, our guide emphasized the high standard costa rica coffee is held to, and demonstrated the tedious process of collecting the coffee cherries. We learned that the collectors only receive 3 dollars per basket of cherries, which, to me, seems to be very little for the amount of work that goes into the collection process. After our tour, and before the informational lecture, we were given time to shop in the gift shop, where I noted that the prices were put in US dollars.
While the tour seemed to highlight the importance and impact of Costa Rican coffee, I felt that the way that Britt frames their product has a clear focus on outside consumption. The entirety of the tour appeared to be very framed towards tourists, and what they would find interesting. Additionally, ending in the gift shop, with US prices, made me feel that the company has a very direct focus on making a profit and selling to consumers outside of Costa Rica. Within their gift shop, Britt had very large posters with various promotions, which urged shoppers to buy large quantities of their products to receive free product in return. I feel that if they were interested in marketing to locals, they would not be promoting the bulk purchase of their products.
