Cafe Britt

This weekend I was able to travel with a couple friends to San Jose, the capital, and then Heredia for my first coffee tour! We arrived in Heredia in the evening to stay the night at a local Hostel. There, we ended up meeting a very nice girl from Holland. We told her of our plans to take a coffee tour and she decided to join. So, Saturday morning, after a light breakfast of fruit and toast with oj and coffee, we were on our way to Cafe Britt.

On the tour, I saw several young coffee plants that were beginning to bear their first "fruits" for the year. I learned so many things, and wished that I had a note pad and paper with me because I cannot remember all that I learned off the top of my head! But, I will share with you at least some of what I did learn.

According to the the coffee legend, an Arabian shepherd found his goats skipping and jumping around a dark green shrub bearing red berries. After trying the berries himself, he experienced the euphoria his goats had felt and the powerful stimulant of caffeine. And so, coffee was born..  Coffee plants bear only one crop per year and their harvesting season is from December to February. Before a plant is even ready to bear fruit, it must have a few years from the time it is planted to mature. There are only two types of coffee plants: Arabica and Robusto. Robusto is the lesser quality of the two and the plant is larger. All good coffee companies use only Arabica beans.

Coffee plants need a high altitude to become quality beans. In a higher altitude, it is cooler, causing the beans to become harder and then able to roast at a more even rate. One advantage that Cafe Britt has is that it is not only located in small mountains, but it is built on volcanic soil. Volcanic soil is rich in nutrients and the porous soil allows the excess rain to drain from the plant. In Costa Rica, it rains almost every day so this type of soil works perfectly. 

When the plant is mature, the beans will turn from green to red and then are referred to as "cherries." 

http://www.coffee-machine.org/wp-content/upLoads/istock_000

000837443large1-274x300.jpg

The "cherries" are then hand-picked and put into a basket tied around the pickers back. The coffee cherry has several layers, all of which besides the bean are stripped away by processes of hydration and drying. An average basket filled will be about 25 pounds of cherries, which will make about 2.5-3 pounds of coffee. 

http://www.nordicbaristacup.com/upload/COSTA_RICA_picking_coffee.jpg

The best method of drying the beans is using the sun, this is referred to as "patio drying." The beans are spread out onto a large surface and then racked every hour for one week. 

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.fairtradeschools.org.uk/images/drying_coffee_beans.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.fairtradeschools.org.uk/resources.htm&usg=__YPBqQXqb0R0qUWipvTykspumYQs=&h=293&w=219&sz=37&hl=en&start=14&sig2=NLC_gpwbGgnxpugK_zIq9w&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=edCFIq5HhWnW3M:&tbnh=115&tbnw=86&prev=/images%3Fq%3Ddrying%2Bcoffee%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Den%26tbs%3Disch:1&ei=9H0eTI6oNoOClAetn_nwDA

A floating test is used to separate the "bad" beans from the "good" ones. The good beans will sink because they are heavier, and the bad will float. Once the process of separating and stripping the bean layers is finished, the remnants are mixed with chicken poop and then used as a fertilizer for the growing coffee plants.  

I very much enjoyed the learning experience and am excited to share some of this great coffee with friends and family!!