Barista Magazine

APR-MAY 2013

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COSTA RICA different, more benign fuel sources. Coopedota in Terrazú, for example, has transitioned to firing their dryers with parchment. Following the team challenge at Cicafé, the Coaster Rican traversed the Central Valley and arrived at the strikingly beautiful family farm and micromill Las Lajas, owned by Oscar and Francisca Chacon. The farm produced 40 different microlots this year (a microlot being defined as a lot of under 40 bags with high traceability). The Chacons are devoted to specialty coffee and enjoying trying new methods of processing. They base a lot of their experiments on trial and error, they explained, and compared processing to cooking. "Like making rice or food," Francisca said, "it's a recipe. There's more than one way of processing coffee just as there's more than one way to prepare coffee." The Chacons had samples of six different lots to cup, including yellow, red, and black honey-processed lots. They really enjoyed the visit and the various perspectives the baristas brought because, Francisca said, they wanted "to know what baristas and consumers are looking for in coffee." After going through the table a few times, Devin remarked, "It's like you can taste the agriculture." The Las Lajas farm and mill are perched high on a hillside, and the cupping room and office have a deck with a sweeping view of the valley below. As the sun set, it lit the sky on fire with purples on the horizon and bright pink and red clouds. As the baristas snapped picture after picture, it was hard to believe that this was only the first day. Hopping back on board the bus, the team wound down the mountain driving toward San José once more to meet up with some of the Ticans from earlier in the day for dinner. Icafé divides the country's coffee-growing areas into eight regions: the Central Valley, West Valley, Tres Ríos, Turrialba, Brunca, Guanacaste, Orosi, and Tarrazú. Because of Costa Rica's popularity as a tourist destination, the high quality of life, and the growing population, many of the regions surrounding the sprawling capital city of San José have been losing agricultural ground. Countless suburban minimalls, American 30 barista magazine An impromptu pop-up of the barista team's daily café, dubbed Café Lorenzo, brought the opportunity for Costa Rican coffee farmers to taste coffees from Kenya and Ethiopia for the first time. chains, traffic, and all of the entrapments of a growing, relatively wealthy nation are visible everywhere in San José. Costa Rica is the richest country per capita in Central America; balancing protection of the country's irreplaceable coffee farms with the demands of commerce will be a challenge for Costa Rica in the 21st century. On the second day, the barista team checked out of the hotel and motored to the West Valley to visit Coopronaranjo. The co-op has 2,100 farmer members and a large dry mill. At the mill, the team cupped a number of different coffees and heard about the challenges facing farmers. For example, many farmers are torn over whether or not to prune their trees after harvest. Pruning increases quality and the health of the tree, but in the short term yields a smaller harvest. The farmer must constantly perform a difficult balancing act, trying to figure out how to maximize present and future profits in a volatile market. Not far away is Espiritu Santo, a farm owned by the co-op. It's one of the largest farms in the country at 250 hectares. Also on the property is a walking tour, micromill, and roasting facilities—all for tourists to help them learn about the coffee industry and to help the co-op diversify its income streams. After leaving Espiritu Santo, the bus wound through the hills and mountains, headed toward the Aguilera Brothers farm. The Aguileras are 12 brothers that are the latest generation to run the family legacy: a coffee farm located at around 1,400 meters and spread out on 40 hectares. Though not all of them work the farm, the brothers' families are incredibly tight, generous, and friendly. They could also be mistaken for the family in Field of Dreams, because at the bottom of their farm, they have leveled the ground and built a full-sized soccer pitch. After touring their mill and

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