Coffee farms probably have the most sourcing related issues relative to any other member of the coffee supply chain. The farm owner/operator is responsible for sourcing the coffee plants, the labor to harvest the coffee cherries, the packaging to store them during transport (if any) and the means to transport them. In my experience here…
Tag: Plus3 Costa Rica
Check out all the Plus3 Costa Rica blogs below!
What We’ve Learned About the Costa Rican Coffee Supply Chain
Throughout our two weeks in Costa Rica I have learned a plethora of information regarding the coffee supply chain. But while on most of our trips I paid special attention the management of each of the parts of the supply chain since management was my groups focus. While at coffee farms, the first step in…
A Source of Happiness
Over the past two weeks, I have been researching the industry, culture, and environment in Costa Rica and seen first hand how it has impacted Costa Rican coffee trade. Our group specialized in sourcing. Sourcing involves buying the best raw products for each step in the business to ensure a high quality, profitable final product….
Costa Rica: It’s Bean Good
I will never look at a cup of coffee the same way after these last two weeks. I think that I have gained a deeper understanding of the hard work and expertise that goes into each individual cup. Something that really surprised me was how sustainable the coffee farming process is. It is a zero…
I literally have 16 Pounds of Coffee in my Suitcase
When I wake up in the morning, the first thing I think of is coffee. I instantly crave it and it’s the quintessential part of my day that I know I will enjoy. For one of the best moments of my day to go to plan, so must every single factor for the person growing…
That’s a Wrap!
Throughout the short time span of two weeks, it is incredible how much information I have gained pertaining to the coffee industry and sustainability. Prior to arriving, I realized that Costa Rica had a strong focus on preservation of the environment, but after visiting and speaking with companies I have come to realize the incredible…
Sourcing and the Supple Chain
Along a beans journey, from the plant to your cup, there is a long trip it must take to make it there. And the only reason it is in your specific cup, is because a lot of different people had to source that bean to you. Coffee farms are rather unique in they way they…
Times are Changing
After seeing Monteverde, it is clear that tourism has had the biggest impact on this area. If I wasn’t convinced myself, then I was convinced when I learned that my host mom had never been there before. When asked why, she told me that it was too touristy and mainly that it was too expensive…
Sourcing and the Supply Chain
Along a beans journey, from the plant to your cup, there is a long trip it must take to make it there. And the only reason it is in your specific cup, is because a lot of different people had to source that bean to you. Coffee farms are rather unique in they way they…
Adios Costa Rica
Coffee Farms The job of a coffee farm is to plant the coffee bean and wait until it sprouts into a cherry. Doka is the best example of a coffee farm that we visited. Their selling can differ compared to others slightly. Since Doka farms the beans some are higher quality which would cause them…
Dota: Cooperative Magic
Today we visited the Café Privilegios. Café Privilegios is made up of 900 different coffee producers. This means that they receive their coffee beans from 900 individual growers. A large portion of these numbers come from families who decided to invest in the coffee industry. An advantage to this cooperative style is that Café Privilegios…
A Day at Dota
Today I had the opportunity to visit Coopedota, or Dota, which is a different type of coffee company. Dota functions as a cooperative, meaning that it is made up of several small, individual coffee plantations-900 in Dota’s case. Having a cooperative system means a whole new system for growing, buying, and selling the product…
A “Rustic” Hotel
A cooperative is a company which takes the resources of many and combines them to form one large company. This provides many opportunities for both small and large farmers alike. Coopedota is one of these cooperatives that provides services for farmers in the Santa Maria de Dota area. By being part of the cooperative, farmers…
Teamwork Makes the Dream Work: Exploring Santa Maria de Dota
Today we visited Santa Maria de Dota, a cooperative community of coffee farms working together to become successful in the coffee industry. Out of the 900 coffee producers which make up Dota, almost all of them are small coffee farms owns and operated by a family. This holds several advantages for those small farms which…
The Coopedota Cooperative and its Impact on the Community
Compared to a traditional company cooperatives can offer many advantages as well disadvantages to those involved. Cooperatives allow small coffee farms to pool their resources and information together to increase their power in the coffee market. An advantage a cooperative has over a traditional company is that small coffee farms have more stability since they…
Teamwork Makes the Dream Work
Coopedota is a cooperative located in the Tarrazú region of the country, consisting of 900 families that work together to pool resources and personal expertise to increase their presence in the coffee market of Costa Rica and improve the communities of families nationwide. To expand, a major advantage of being a member of a cooperative…
Cooperative: Equal Opportunity for All Farmers
We’ve had the opportunity to tour several coffee companies throughout our time in Costa Rica, each with its own individual mission or values that sets it apart. Today, we toured Coope Dota and its Cafe Privilegios, both of which are centered on bettering the surrounding community. Coope Dota is a cooperative, thus allowing smaller farmers…
Dota Dota
A cooperative is another type of way a business can operate. So far none of the coffee places we have visited have been cooperatives. Today’s company, Dota, was the first and last cooperative that we visited. Dota is a very large cooperative with over 900 coffee farms. This way of operation has many advantages and…
Dota!
The advantages of a coop are simple: The more people you have, the more resources you have, the less dependent you are on one company, and the more viewpoints they have, the better chance of finding an efficient solution. The more resources maximizes outcome and intern profit. In an agreement such as a coop you…
Coffee Cooperating
We wrapped up our coffee tours today by visiting Dota, a coffee cooperative which has many special attributes unique to the other coffee companies we have visited. A cooperative is different from the typical organization in the sense that a cooperative pools from multiple separate organizations and combines their product into one final product in…