Planta a Taza
Plant to cup
5). Protect and restore the integrity of Earth’s ecological systems, with special concern for biological systems, with special concern for biological diversity and the natural processes that sustain life.
It’s rainy but the sun is still overhead. As I inhale and exhale this fresh air, that is oh so different from what I am use to, my mouth starts to water for the fresh vegetation that Costa Rica is known for. I’m wearing my raincoat like the water droplets that settled on the fresh cut green grass underfoot, is this my new uniform? The arroz con frejoles combined with pancakes and fresh passion fruit juice have reached my stomach and with that came twenty new faces finally putting a face to the name Kristina, She does exist.
My first, and my colleagues possibly third adventure consisted of visiting Finca la Bella; a cooperative farm located in San Luis de Monteverde. The farm contains fifty hectares of land, which is split amongst the twenty six families that live there. Seeing as that Finca La Bella is split up into different farms, on that day we would visit two of the twenty six.
In recent years the tour was facilitated by one of the farm owners himself, Alvaro. However Alvaro was recently diagnosed with stomach cancer and was too weak to oversee our groups tour of his farm, having freshly undergone chemotherapy. This really saddened me having I arrived late to the program due to burying my grandmother who had just lost her battle to cancer.
Starting our tour with Elisa, Alvaro’s wife, it dawned on me that distances can be deceptive in the transparent atmosphere of the rainforest. The top of the hill that we saw from the beginning of our hike that seemed so near could be fifteen kilometers away. It was too late to back out of the hike now- mainly because I had to write about it. I have no choice but to keep walking up the gravel path roads and through all of the freshly grown vegetation. I could see the light at the end of the tunnel, at the top there are always people, and where there are people there is life. There is no other path I can take.
Alvaro’s farm is completely organic and very sustainable, it grows anything from coffee for fair trade, to fruits and vegetables. It all began about sixteen years ago by an American woman by the name of Ana Caribe as a land trust. However over the years it has begun to fall apart, due to families wanting titles for their land. Although each family had their own autonomy to grow whatever they want (to a certain extent of course) some of them are still wanting to sell due to competition as well as the constant subdividing.
Alvaro grows shade-grown coffee and sells it to a local vendor who roasts and processes the “cerezas” (cherries.) The process of growing coffee can be hectic, they begin planting beans in September and harvest them in late January. On these sustainable farms coffee and sugar cane were once the primary focuses, but today it’s all mixed crops consisting of cilantro, onions and chiote.
As we made our way along the hike we viewed numerous different plants, including The “Guaria Morada” the national orchid of Costa Rica as well as the “Maria” (which produces some small fruits that are muy delicioso and often compared to blueberries.) Everything was so beautiful and edible, you just want to touch and taste everything — but of course we were strongly advised not too!
While walking through the farm, barks of sugar cane graced the area where our toes meet our feet. A lot unfamiliar with cane got to see it in every form, from growing stalks to processed blocks of pure brown sugar. Once upon a time sugar cane was solely grown for profit in Costa Rica, however today it isn’t. Alvaro, along with a few other farmers, continue to grow sugar cane as part of a family tradition as well as for tourism.
200 ft from the sugar cane, and we had reached that light at the end of tunnel and with that came a view to die for. That little red dot at the top of what we knew was a hill, was not only the roof to a building but in fact the housing for the trapiche machine. After settling under this tiki hut inspired building, Elisa brought out fresh cut cane for our group to try.
After tasting cane first hand most of the group were not sure how they felt about it some found it to be rather dry, others too chewy and of course for some too sweet. It was now time to transform the fresh cut cane into sugar cane juice or better yet agua dulce. With the help of the trapiche machine and four volunteers (two persons to turn the volador, one to push the stalk through, and a fourth to collect the liquid), we had made sugar cane juice! The agua dulce is a hit among Costa Ricans, however Alvaro doesn’t sell it he prefers to give it away as gifts or keep it in house. A lot of people including Costa Ricans come to Alvaro’ s farm just to learn how to make agua dulce. They also produce contraband alcohol from the sugar cane mixed with corn, the alcohol is solely for home consumption so sadly we were not able to taste any- que triste!
Starbucks who?
From one farm to another. As we walk down a long gravel path away from the sun into a chilly wind filled contained space, the aroma of coffee is ever so present. Welcome to Oldemar and Ersi’s Coffee Plantation and Cafe La Bella Tica . As mentioned earlier the process of making coffee can be rather hectic, each farmer has their own process on how they grow their coffee, and for some farmers like Oldemar they can follow up to 50 steps mas o menos.
Oldemar believes in leaving his seeds out in the sun to dry for fifty days whereas other farmers like Alvaro only leave them out for 2–3 weeks at a time. Oldemar’s coffee would indeed be considered natural coffee seeing that his coffee does not necessarily need sugar honey layering on the outer layer of the cereza. During the month of February they must take off all of the seeds including the yellow and green that were not harvested, once they are all taken off white flowers grow in their place, however if this doesn’t happen that means a crop will not grow next year. After picking the seeds they use cajavea’s (metal buckets)to measure the amount acquired, one full cajavea weighs about 10 kilos however when the beans are grounded it ends up weighing 2 kilos. A farmer only receives $2 for a full cajavea.
Bella Tica Cafe is a certified organic coffee through the Eco Logica certification organization, that grants both organic production and processing. Their coffee has distinguishing features such as eco-friendly, bird friendly and sustainable production that is done immediately after roasting providing a uniquely fresh product that differs in quality from the competition. Unlike the coffee you might buy from Starbucks or at your local grocery store, Bella Tica has biodegradable packaging, Oldemar uses recycled paper packaging, OXO- biodegradable plastic bags, in presentations of 300 grams, Dark Roast and Medium Roast, Whole Beans or Ground Coffee. This family owned and operated business is like no other, they grace the cover packaging of their $8 bags of coffee making it that much more special and personal than the leading competitors.
Unfortunately not everyone in Costa Rica is fortunate enough to have the knowledge behind the production of organic farming and coffee production. A lot of Costa Ricans have to be very frugal about how they spend the almighty Colone, and although organic is a safer and much healthier route to take it’s not always the most economic way to go.
The principals and fundamental facts behind organic farming — the ideals of land stewardship in order to keep the land productive for generations. Organic farming as we know it is the result of a wide adaptation of input intensive farming, as a result of technological advances made, along with food shortages. Synthetic fertilizers were affordable and successfully manufactured paired with tractors to replace manual labor. Thus helping farmers to brainstorm and develop new methods that increased the long term productivity of their farming system and and practicing farming as stewards of the land. Farmers are protecting the ecological system by practicing in balance with the natural environment, using methods and materials that minimize negative impact on the environment. The farmers of Finca la Bella are committed to replicating the ecology of the natural environment by maintaining biodiversity and fostering healthy soil and growing conditions.
The production of organic coffee is unbelievably expensive, however farmers like Alvaro and Oldemar use everything grown within Finca la Bella (from the coffee seeds, to the milk that these farmers exchange with each other.) The reason behind organic coffee being so expensive is due to the amount of time that goes into organic farming, also because the main focus is quality over quantity. With that being said in the words of Oldemar “ You can’t have energy, strength, happiness or love without coffee.”
