Today we went on a tour of the National Theater. We also visited Cafe Rey, a local coffee roaster and distributor. They buy their coffee beans from local farmers, however they usually buy the lower quality beans that are left over after the farmers have sold the higher qualities to large exporting coffee companies. They roast the beans and sell their coffee mostly in Costa Rica, however they do export some.
The coffee industry is very important in Costa Rica and has provided many economic benefits for the country over the past two centuries. The relative economic stability of the industry has led to the creation of many jobs. In addition to growing, roasting, and distributing coffee, tourism has become increasingly popular. Companies such as Cafe Britt have a very well thought out tour of a coffee plantation, even though they're a roaster and distributor, not a grower (they buy their coffee beans from other farmers). However, since Costa Rica is not a large country and many coffee producers don't have the same production levels as their competitors, there is a huge focus on quality over quantity, in order to be taken seriously as an international competitior.
As I mentioned earlier, much of the higher quality coffee is exported, leaving the Ticos with the lower quality leftovers (as is the same case for many fruits that are exported from here, like pineapples and mangos). In my experience, I've tried local Costa Rican coffee (from Cafe Rey) and fruit (for breakfast almost every morning) and if what I've tried is considered low quality, I'd love to try high quality. Both the fruit and the coffee that I've had here have been fantastic and nothing close to sub-par, so I don't think the Ticos are missing out on much by exporting their higher quality products to make more money.
No comments:
Post a Comment