Over the past two weeks, my group and I have thoroughly researched the coffee making process. This has helped me develop a greater understanding of coffee, as well as a greater appreciation for everyone involved in the coffee making process. We visited many coffee farms this trip, including Doka, Café Britt, Starbucks, Life Monteverde, and…

Today, we visited Coopedota, a cooperative based out of the Tarrazú area. They grow their coffee and import other coffee from 900 farms in the region. Their main business is in the milling process, but growing and roasting still happen in the facility as well. These farms bring their picked coffee cherries to Coopedota in…

After visiting a Starbucks farm and Café Rey today, we saw two different types of companies, one with an international focus and one with a local focus. Costa Rica grows great coffee, so are they losing great coffee they could be drinking? How do they benefit from trade? First off, I think the country benefits…

Our stay in Monteverde culminated with a visit to Café de Monteverde. We were given a nice tour, and we were able to leave our mark on the plantation by planting trees! This is a family owned business that still has some room to grow, so our tour felt much more genuine, the people seemed…

The Quakers came to Costa Rica around the 1950s, and even though they were not the first foreign inhabitants, they might have had the largest impact. We had the privilege to talk to one of these Quakers that made a three month trek from Alabama to Costa Rica for a better life with less violence….

At the Universidad Veritas, we had the chance to visit the Fab Lab. We were able to see a 3D printer, a laser cutter, and work with building 3D models, both on the computer and physically. Many of these inventions, especially the 3D printer, has had a huge impact on our ability to make accurate…

Our second tour of the day was of Café Britt, which has a large presence in the international market, however not so much in Costa Rica. We started with lunch, took a tour of the plantation, and finished with a presentation all about Britt. Café Britt does a couple different things contributing to the supply…

Today, we had a lecture about Costa Rican history dating all the way back to before Costa Rica was its own country in 1839. We learned everything from how the country gained its independence to what has happened in Costa Rica the past couple years. I came into the discussion with a couple questions regarding…

We are all done with day 1 activities here in Costa Rica! After walking around Heredia, I can say it is a very nice, up to date city. Coming in, I tried to have as little expectations as possible and just enjoy my time here. I was aware that Costa Rica is not like many…

Sustainability has become a very important topic in the past couple years. One country not ignoring all the buzz is Costa Rica. They are ranked second in the world for environmental sustainability, only behind Switzerland. One of Costa Rica’s largest initiatives contributing to their sustainability is the use of renewable energy in many different forms….