Entry 13 - Our first view of the Pacific coast of Costa Rica

San Marcos de Tarrazú,  23 August 2007, 8:30 pm

Today we went to a farm that was called Miramar because it was a coffee farm where one can see (mira) the ocean (mar).  It was a beautiful and spectacular view, and the road to get there was steep and treacherous, right on the side of the mountain.

This farm is owned by Luis Daniel Zuñiga, who greeted us wearing a T-shirt that read “Café de Costa Rica – The natural taste of our land.”  He told us that his farm was on both sides of the mountain, so one side had sunlight in the morning, the other in the afternoon.  This required him to have different farming practices for each side.  For example, the side with afternoon sunlight experienced much more moisture (afternoon rains, overnight dampness, morning dew, not dried until the sun came over and then afternoon rains started again) and required the use of fungicides, which he did not have to use on the morning-sun side.

Don Luis Daniel told us that he had already been doing most of what Starbucks required under CAFÉ Practices before he entered that system.  One notable exception was the use of chemical herbicides, which he has cut by 2/3 because of working with Starbucks.  In addition, he has started preserving trees and planting new shade trees because of CAFÉ Practices.

Last year, he said was a good yield.  This year would be lower.  But he said his farming is now “safer” because of the long-term contract with Starbcucks.

Sebastian told us this was a great example of how not all farms can be managed the exact same way.  Different farms are affected by differences in shade, elevation, sunlight, water runoff, etc.

Today I got to measure the farm using the GPS, which was really fun.  I followed Don Luis Daniel around his farm, tracking it with the GPS system.  This will be used in conjunction with the other teams’ tracking of the coffee plants and shade trees by GPS to create a composite map of the farm.

Afterward, we had another extremely moving experience.  Don Luis Daniel asked us if we would like to plant shade trees on his farm.  Of course we did.  He brought out the young trees, and one by one, we planted them on his farm.  He asked us to write down who planted which tree, and where we were from. He wanted to preserve the memory as much as we did, which was really touching.  Natalia, Roy, and I went back afterward to record the GPS of each tree, so that we will be able to locate the area in Costa Rica where we were blessed enough to leave some life behind.

After we planted the trees, Don Luis Daniel took us on a hike of the other side of the mountain, where he has dedicated a small forest as a nature preserve.  He said he will never cut down that forest for any reason, believing that keeping these preserves is part of the contract he has with nature.  It was another beautiful hike, but it was very steep and slippery, and we were getting tired.  We hiked back up the side of the mountain and got into our vehicles to head back to the lab.  Don Luis Daniel asked us to get back out of the trucks and take a picture.  He said he wanted to keep it to share with his children.  I cannot believe the beauty of the amazing people we have met.  This kindness that has been extended to me is something else I need to ensure I keep in practice when I get home.

In the afternoon, we went to another local coffee cooperative and mill called Coopedota.  The general manager gave us a warm welcome and served us some of his coop’s coffee (which we remembered enjoying back at Café Los Santos).  The manager’s name is Roberto Mata Naranjo, and he is the brother of Merce, who has been preparing all of our wonderful lunches.

Don Roberto told us that Starbucks has been buying from them since 1998.  He said it’s an important relationship because even when world market prices tanked, they had long-term contracts so they suffered less than other farmers.  He said these three-year contracts continue to the present.

He said they have been encouraging CAFÉ practices amongst their member farmers since the inception of that program, and about half of them are in that system.  But, he said, they have been demanding sustainability in coffee production long before modern certifications.  While their coop is not Fair Trade Certified, he was adamant that their standards are at least as high as that program and was proud of all they are doing to promote a more sustainable industry.

Coopedota was started in October of 1960 to address the needs of small-scale farmers.  They have been selling to Germany’s Hochland Coffee since 1968.  Like Coopetarrazú, this coop has some great environmentally responsible practices, including using the husk and dried pulp of the coffee beans to fire the pre-drying machines in their mill.  And like Coopetarrazú, they take the pulp from the coffee cherries to their coop-owned farm and compost, using natural and vermiculture (worm) composting techniques.

They have an estate brand of coffee they sell, using coffee from 36 small-scale individual farmers.  They also operate cafés throughout the region and offer a tour of their mill (which we went on) called Coffee Experience.  90% of their beans are exported; the other 10% are roasted at their on-site roaster.

One thing I learned today is about peaberries.  I already knew what they were (it’s the 1-in-20 phenomenon where the two pits of the coffee cherry grow as one round pit rather than two—like conjoined twins).  I also knew that some roasters separate them out because they have a different taste.  But what I learned was that the taste is different because of the increased acidity (and “acidity” in coffee tasting terminology is not talking about acid or ph levels, but the “brightness” a coffee has when you drink it).  The reason for the increased acidity is so logical: in a normal bean, it has half the usual acidity because there are two pits, or beans.  In peaberries, the entire acidity of the cherry stays in the one round bean.  That probably isn’t interesting to everyone, but it was neat to me…

After the presentation, we took the Coffee Experience tour of Coopedota, including a tour of their small roaster.  I took a fun video of the beans being cooled on the roaster and will post it on Gather.com. 

When we were finished, we went to the coop’s onsite café and enjoyed some very tasty espresso drinks and were able to buy some souvenirs.

Nancy from Starbucks was very excited because sitting in the café enjoying a beverage was the owner of La Candelilla Estate, one of Starbucks Black Apron Exclusives coffees from a few years back, and one example of long-term relationship the company has with an individual farm (which by definition cannot be Fair Trade certified because Fair Trade only certifies coops, not individual farmers).  Natalia recognized him and introduced him to Nancy.  She got to sit with him for a few minutes and trade business cards.  His coffee, she said, was one of the finest she ever tasted and it was surreal for her to be able to meet him.

At night, we went to dinner together and some of the group went out to karaoke at a bar in downtown San Marcos.  Thursday nights, apparently it’s all the rage.  I got out of it (yes!) and came back here to the hotel to relax and enjoy some conversation and an Imperial with my buddy Gabriel.

Tomorrow is our last day in the field.

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