Coffee! Coffee! Coffee! Who would have thought that while on an Avian Biology study abroad to Costa Rica I would learn so much about coffee. It isn’t hard to understand why it was so important to Costa Ricans to share their knowledge about coffee with us. We had coffee with every single meal and it was always served with hot milk and raw azucar (sugar). I have never met a person that can drink as much coffee as a Costa Rican can. While we were there our tour guide took us to a coffee farm called Finca De Villa to learn about coffee production from start to finish. Our guide was able to translate for the farm’s owner who did not speak English. Despite the language barrier, we were still able to learn a great deal about how coffee is grown and harvested. On this farm, coffee is grown in alternating seasons with sugar cane so that they will have a year-round income. The main concern of the farmer during the growing season is keeping monkeys away from the coffee bushes once they start to bear fruit so that he/she does not lose income. Once the fruit turns bright red it is ready to be harvested, the farmer will hire temporary workers for this job and will pay them based on how many baskets they collect. After all of the fruit has been harvested it can be sold to local processors that will roast and package the product to be sold. Seeing this whole process from plant to cup gave me such an interesting perspective to something I enjoy every day… a hot cup of coffee! Though it seemed odd to go on a birding trip to Costa Rica and be taken on a coffee side trip, I was very thankful for the experience.
