Day 6 – Starbucks and Museums

Today, we went to the ISA office to hear a presentation from Starbucks representative about their modified version of practicing Fair Trade called Coffee and Farmer Equity (C.A.F.E.) Practices. The main difference between the two is that Fair Trade is only applicable to small farms, while C.A.F.E. Practices are applicable to all sizes of farms. The mission of the program is to create long term relationships with suppliers who use sustainable methods of growing their crop. Starbucks’ goal is to have 100% of their suppliers using C.A.F.E. Practices by the end of 2015, and as of 2013 they had 95% of their goal accomplished.

This kind of innovation demonstrates the kind of creativity involved in the organization of the company. There is constantly research being done to find ways of improving their product and increasing efficiency. This is not unique to Starbucks though, as Café Britt had a similar mentality towards research. Because of this fact, I think this characteristic might be applicable to the gourmet coffee industry as a whole, just by its nature. It’s an industry that constantly striving for both perfection and to be socially responsible, so improvements always need to be made. And because it’s a rapidly changing and volatile industry, innovation is absolutely necessary to accomplish those lofty goals.

Day 5 – Café Britt

Today we toured a small Café Britt plantation to learn about the history of coffee, how it’s grown, and the precautions the company takes to ensure their coffee is the best in the world. Originally, it only sold coffee, but gourmet coffee is not as profitable as it might sound. The market price of coffee beans is highly volatile, and as a result, most companies will resort to buying lower quality beans to compensate. However, Café Britt buys the only the highest quality coffee, so their profit depends largely on the harvest that year. In fact, it almost went bankrupt multiple times in the 1990’s because of this, despite their high quality products and brand loyalty. To make up for this, the company expanded their scope of production to include products such as chocolate covered coffee beans, cookies and candies since around the turn of the century.

I learned what I would look like as a coffee picker during the tour today

We had the privilege of meeting the CEO of the company, Pablo Vargas, to have a brief Q&A session. According to him, Café Britt stores are in 13 different Latin American countries. Because each country has their own coffee preferences based on whether or not they are a coffee producing nation and such, the stores have to be customized based on their location. For example, those in Costa Rica sell Costa Rican Coffee; in Peru, Peruvian Coffee; in Colombia, Colombian coffee; etc. This anomaly makes Café Britt a fairly unique company. It also brings a unique set of logistic challenges, but at the same time creates a brand loyalty so strong that people from all over the world have their coffee shipped to their house because they refuse to drink any other brand.

Day 4 – First Day at a Coffee Plantation

This morning, we woke up bright and early to take of a tour of the Instituto Nacional de Café (ICAFE). It’s a chamber of commerce of sorts that regulates the production and sale of coffee in Costa Rica along with researching ways to improve the quality of the crop in sustainable ways.

Our tour guide, Mario

They get their seeds from their onsite nursery, and are currently experimenting with genetically modifying certain species of the plant to potentiate traits conducive to a bountiful harvest. They are either grown onsite or sold to local producers, to whom ICAFE recommends strains to use in order to control the quality of the crop collectively between plantations.

The coffee plant takes 9 months to produce its cherries, and on average yields 23 bags per hectare when using pesticides, in Costa Rica specifically. 50% of the crop is dedicated explicitly for research, and the rest is given to the workers or sold. The plants are also pruned every seven years so they can be reused without having to replant a seed. However, they can only be pruned four times before the plant needs to be replaced.

A big environmental concern is the use of pesticides. Killing insects obviously harms the natural balance of the ecosystem, but at the same time, a certain amount of chemicals can still be used without harming the insects. Based on the amount of insects and their predators we saw while touring thought, it’s clear that ICAFE is limiting their use of pesticides appropriately.

Overall, seeing the institute was an enriching experience. It was our first site visit to an actual coffee producer so far, and it made me excited for the rest of the trip.

The group exploring the coffee fields

Day 3 – A Day of Lectures

The group spent today at the ISA office building attending a lecture about Costa Rican society, culture and history and a crash course in the basic Spanish necessary to survive abroad. It wasn’t the most exciting day, but it was worthwhile and entertaining at times nonetheless.

The highlight of today by far was lunch at La Terracita de Papá. It was a small restaurant that serves only breakfast and lunch with only a few of table. First of all, the man who waited on us was quite friendly. He took time to talk to us and explain the menu, giving us suggestions based on what he liked. In fact, he convinced me to change my drink order from pineapple juice to cas juice, his personal favorite and made with a unique species of guava found only in Costa Rica. He told me once I try it, I’ll ask for it everywhere I go. And boy was he right; it was delicious!

And the food was equally as good. We all got cansado, which is a plate of rice, beans and a choice of meat (I got pork) served with fried plantains and salad. What I like most about the food here is how fresh all of the ingredients are because most of the places I’ve eaten at so far only use products from Costa Rica. As a result, when I finish eating, I feel satisfied more so than full like I do in States, and it’s a much more pleasant experience.

I was a little worried about the food before coming, but after my experiences so far, all my worries have been ameliorated. 

Day 2 – Exploring San Jose

Group outside of our last destination today, the Museo Nacional de Costa Rica

While walking around the city today, I was introduced to several cultural nuances of Costa Rica that differ considerably from the United States. For example, our tour guide, Mario, explained the living situation of their president. Rather than moving to the White House with an entourage of Secret Service agents like in the US, the Costa Rican president lives in his own house under the protection of a single police officer parked on the street outside, and he chooses the location of his office upon his election. In fact, the current president’s office is a room in the Hotel Jade, the hotel we’re staying in!

In addition, the way that Costa Ricans interact with foreigners is very different than the way they do with the locals, as expected. In large groups, we attract many stares and smiles from Costa Ricans going about their day. In fact, many times when I have interacted with them, such as at dinner, I occasionally see them chuckle to themselves and my assumed ineptitude. The weird thing is when I speak in Spanish to them out of courtesy, some Costa Ricans respond in English, as if to spite me. However, because according to our require reading The Ticos: Culture and Social Change in Costa Rica, Costa Ricans always try to save face, the conversation always remains polite and they maintain a friendly disposition throughout.

Finally, during the tour today we passed the University of Costa Rica as Mario told us a bit about the education system in Costa Rica. Much like the US, the private high schools usually produce smarter students than their public counterparts, but the interesting difference is that students in public colleges in Costa Rica tend to find jobs easier than private school students. I'm curious about this last detail because The Ticos claimed that students that attend private high schools usually will also enroll into a private university because they're parents can afford it, and additionally, that these students will find jobs more easily because they're parents have connections throughout the country to give them more opportunities. Its not based as much on the quality of your education as much as who you know.

Also, the University of Costa Rica is supposed to be the most prestigious institution in the nation, but the facilities were fairly basic and, in some places, quite run down. This was odd to me because at home the most prestigious schools are normally the most beautiful as well. However, I suppose this different makes sense given the socioeconomic status of Costa Rica. 

Day 1 - Arriving in Costa Rica

After a long 36 hours of packing, traveling and no sleep, we've finally settled in at the Hotel Jade in San Jose. This is my first time traveling abroad and the first time in nearly a decade since I have been on a plane, but traveling in such a large group made the negotiating through the logistics of TSA and customs much less stressful. It was comforting being like a sheep in a heard among my peers and professors, allowing me to become better acquainted with the various steps of flying to another country without having to personally confront and major decisions.

In addition, the size of the group has eased the transition into the Costa Rican culture and lifestyle. While we have only been here for 7 hours now, we still had the chance to explore a few blocks near the hotel (the mall and local restaurant mainly). Similarly to it's effect at the airport, traveling in a large group through San Jose added a level of comfort for me. Filled with curiosity about the city and what it has in store for us, we could freely ask questions, bounce ideas off of each other and express our shared interests as we pleased.

All in all, it was a long day, but being with my peers was comforting. I'm excited to see what adventures these two weeks have in store.