Barista Magazine

APR-MAY 2013

Barista Magazine is your home for the worldwide community of coffee and the people who make it.

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walking through the steep slopes of coffee plants, the baristas found the few remaining ripe cherries and popped them into their mouth. Then the Aguileras led everyone onto the field, and an impromptu soccer game broke out. Following the match, the baristas, brothers, and their families, wandered up the hill back to the mill where there were food, drinks, and coffee made in a chorreador, a cloth filter that looks like a sock and is the traditional method of preparing coffee in Costa Rica. Of course, after being served the farm's coffee, the baristas were excited to share their own coffees with the farmers. The baristas brought out a half-dozen or so different coffees, and asked the farmers which they would like to try. Quickly, Café Lorenzo (as in: Lorenzo Perkins) was set up on a picnic table and brewing of a Kenyan coffee from Verve and an Ethiopian Sidamo from Coava on AeroPresses commenced. Café Lorenzo became a daily fixture of the trip: Every morning began with a visit to the "café" by the baristas where some of their companies' best coffees were always on the menu. One of the greatest things about it was this: Before the first day, Lorenzo had never used an AeroPress. He stayed up researching recipes online before the grand opening, and he nailed it from day one. The roadshow café was a development that ought to be replicated in any traveling barista revue. Day three brought the team back through San José headed toward Tarrazú and the Rio Jorco dry mill. At the mill, the baristas cupped more than a dozen coffees. After lunch, the team took a break for the amazing photo shoot that produced the newest Café Imports ad (see page 35). As the baristas sunk into the cold, wet cherry, Rudy Azofeifa Monge, the mill's general manager, laughed wickedly and sprayed them with the hose, while the farmer who brought the coffee specifically for the shoot smiled with obvious delight. Loads of people came out to see what the all-star baristas were up to, and they started cheering and snapping pictures. It was further evidence that though the origin trip would never be forgotten by the baristas, the farmers and mill workers were also going to have many fantastic memories of the visit. After the shoot, Rudy led the baristas to the hillside behind the cupping room/coffee museum. It was the Los Lobos farm, which was the source of one of everyone's favorites from the cupping table. In a stunningly beautiful sight, thousands and thousands of blossoms exploded with their bright white flowers on the coffee plants all up the slope. The team re-boarded the bus, and then headed into town, where many of the farmers whose coffees the baristas had just cupped were waiting to meet them. The farmers watched a shortened video of Raul's 2012 WBC-winning performance in Vienna, and then asked questions about the baristas. Once again, the AeroPresses were brought out and the farmers had a chance to taste coffee from outside of Costa Rica for the first time. On the following day, the team visited two more co-ops in the Terrazú region. First up was CoopTerrazú, where the baristas cupped coffees, toured the enormous dry mill, and learned about efforts by the co-op to improve the quality of the coffee and the farmers' lives. The co-op produces 100 percent Fairtrade-certified coffees, and comprises of more than 2,800 members. The huge compound includes 10 business units including a supermarket, gas stations, and a credit union. After that, the team rolled up to Coopedota where they were greeted by Roberto Mata Naranjo, the head of the co-op. "We've been looking forward to this visit for weeks," he told the baristas, to which Raul replied, "I'm so honored. I've been wanting to come here for two years." Touring the facility brought into view a big white board where all the team member names were written along with Twitter handles and the hashtag #KostaFreaka, The baristas had been using that tag for the duration of the trip, and it was obvious that the folks at the co-op had been following the journey via Twitter and Instagram. Roberto told the baristas about the many environmentally friendly steps the co-op had been taking over the last few years, but he also expressed Exclusive Grinder Sponsor – now in Boston! A SHOW, T THE SCA SEE YOU A # B1 / 971 ! BOOTH www.mahlkoenig.com www.baristamagazine.com 33

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