A cup of coffee isn’t hard to get, I could easily go to a nearby Starbucks and grab a latte or purchase a bag at my nearest grocery store. However, the actual process of growing a coffee bean and delivering it to the United States is an entirely different and much more excruciating process. My…
Tag: Raymond Little
Teamwork Makes The Dreamwork
Unity is a beautiful thing when it benefits those involved, especially in the cooperatives we talked about today. It’s clear that it is beneficial for farmers to join a cooperative like the Dota organization because it offers them more resources and supplies. It also provides a network of other farmers who can help you adapt…
Peter Piper Picked A Piña
There is a world of difference between the coffee bean business versus the banana and pineapple business. When it comes to banana and pineapples, you take the fruit directly from the farm to transporters to retailers. However, when you’re working with coffee beans, you have to take them through the roasting process which adds another…
Costa Rica Just Keeps Evolving
Arenal is certainly a piece of heaven, one of the most beautiful landscapes in the world topped off by a giant volcano. Although I wasn’t able to attend the hanging bridges tour, I was still able to listen in to the insightful lecture from Alberto Rico Urones which opened my eyes to some of the…
A Better Tomorrow
Life Monteverde was sincerely one of the greatest representations of a passion for the Earth I have ever seen. The commitment to sustainability, education, and long-term thinking should be a model for farmers worldwide. Guillermo’s vision of a farm that gives to the environment as much as it takes was truly an inspiration, it seemed…
Prioritizing Life Over Profit
There’s a certain crisp taste in the air of Monteverde, yeah it’s probably just the elevation, but I like to think of it as something more. The combination of absolutely breathtaking sights, life in every direction, and a true passion from its residents is what gives it that magic touch. In all seriousness, I believe…
Miles High In Monteverde
Today we traveled the narrow roads and steep paths on our bus to reach the city of Monteverde, a prominent location in Costa Rica known for its natural beauty. Immediately entering the city you can see a significant difference between Heredia and Monteverde in terms of city structure, natural landscape, and businesses. In Heredia, there…
Branding Coffee, Breading Success
Today was a study more of marketing and promoting coffee than actually growing it. When hearing from Café Britt today, it was clear that creating a gourmet brand is just as much about customer outreach as it is quality control. I found this approach much different than Doka’s which seems to have a much higher…
Old Habits Die Hard
Word of the day – Coffee. Defined by the Webster Dictionary as “a hot drink made from the roasted and ground seeds of a tropical shrub.” It’s meaning to the billions of those who drink it worldwide is so much more though. It represents productivity, that ‘pick me up’ on a long day, and the…
We’re Not So Different After All
Life is phenomenal in Costa Rica. Beautiful weather, amazing food, and some amazing basketball so far. The expectations I set for Costa Rica were fairly high and so far all my experiences have surpassed them. The restaurants not only have complex and delicious food but it’s extremely affordable compared to the United States. Although I…
`Costa Rica – Salvando el Mundo
It seems like every other news article I read mentions how our planet’s forests, wildlife, and natural resources are being destroyed at a rate we can’t seem to repair. It often makes me lose hope in a better future for our environment and future generations. However, after learning about the sustainable nature of Costa Rica…