Coffee anyone?

de Diane Hardy

I first arrived in Costa Rica in January 1991 before it became a trendy place to visit.

In my subsequent visits, I´ve struggled with the changes in Costa Rica. For many years, development went out of control. The tourism industry went crazy catering to foreigners, in many cases, at the expense of its own people and ecosystems.

Eco-turismo has always been a double-edged sword. Tourism is now Costa Rica´s #1 income. It has far surpassed coffee and other agricultural products. Progressive governments have tried to rein in development of coastal areas and other important habitats (especially from foreign investors).

Serious environmental issues remain. Lack of potable water, inadequate sewage systems, destruction of habitats, extinction.

But the big buzzword nowadays is sustainability.

I´m one of those people that tries to buy fair trade, buy local and avoid companies that like to well, pull a BP on people, places and animals. When I travel in Costa Rica, I always try to keep this in mind. Don´t be a gringa arrogante, Diane.

Most people think of coffee when they think of Costa Rica. Coffee helped build this nation. The railroads were laid, other agricultural sectors all developed because of coffee. Most of you probably have had café tico.

We Milwaukee folks are lucky to have several good local coffee roasters. I am a regular at Alterra but also love Stone Creek and even small places like Sven´s in Bay View. Despite being decaffeinated now, I still like a strong brew.

So when I come to Costa Rica, I have to bring back a lot of coffee. The other day my friend Renato, his mother, daughter and I headed to an area outside San Jose called Zona de los Santos. We went to a café that´s affiliated with the Coopedota coffee cooperative in a town called Santa Maria de Dota. It was one of the best cups of coffee I´ve ever had. I´m not just saying it because I love CR. I had actually had many good cups of coffee before getting to Dota.

I´ve never gone on a coffee tour which is strange knowing how much I love coffee. CR´s most famous export coffee is Café Britt. It is a good brand. I checked out the tour. It cost $78. There was no guarantee of a tour in Spanish either. So I realized if I go on the Britt tour, I´d be stuck sitting with rich gringos que no hablan espanol. Britt obviously has priced out any budget travelers and most ticos. That made me sick.

So I turned to my trusty New Key to Costa Rica book (the only book I will ever recommend for visiting Costa Rica). There was a story about the coffee from the Zona de los Santos. This area is in Costa Rica´s higher elevations and the soil is rich due to past volcanic activity. Perfect for café.
We had loved the café so much (and brought back quite a bit) so I decided to call Coopedota and arrange a tour.

It started with a little video about the history of the cooperative. One of the co-op employees, Adrian, sat with me and asked me if I had any questions so far. I mentioned many of the famous companies I saw on the wall…Peet´s, Starbucks and commented that the co-op worked with some huge chains.

Then I said, you know in my city we have a great local roaster that supports sustainable production. I said it had a cool name, Alterra. Adrian stops me and says, un momentito. He stands up, goes to the wall and pulls a plaque down and hands it to me. Alterra, it says, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Coopedota is one of Alterra´s suppliers. I almost fell over.

Of all the coffee cooperatives in the world, I walked into one that makes some of my favorite brews possible. Que tonta, I flew all the way to Costa Rica to buy coffee and the same stuff is six blocks from my house in Milwaukee. LOL

What really boggled my mind was how the cooperative worked and what it accomplishes. They have 78 employees and all of them have multiple responsibilities so no one loses their job in non-harvest times. So the guy that runs the toasting machines also knows how to repair and maintain it. They have many local farmers that grow and provide the coffee. They are co-op members. The co-op has meetings and classes to teach them about sustainable farming. They have a store that supplies everything farmers need at a fair price.

Coopedota is not fair trade certified but is certified by the Rain Forest Alliance as eco-friendly. They are about to become the first carbon-neutral coffee producer in Costa Rica. All members share in the profits. The administrative staff has basically cut out most intermediaries that used to exploit farmers. Now they negotiate directly with buyers. I told them in the US, sharing profits would be muy malo. SHARE profits. Que horror.

The farmers do hire foreign workers during the harvest, mostly indigenous Panamanians and some Nicaraguans. The farmers usually provide housing but many rent. The Costa Rican government provides health care gratis.

What interested me most is how this little cooperative has changed this town of 3,000. Coopedota had been recycling for years. With the help of local school children, the entire town now recycles. What they can´t re-use, they sell. Gasp! More benefits for everyone!

Anyway, I left inspired by what a small group of people can do to change an entire region. There are many similar cooperatives in the area and spread throughout all of Costa Rica. Coopedota asked for a $5 donation for the tour. They got that, plus all the coffee I bought all day, plus the coffee that´s coming home with me, plus my cool new polo. And I still didn´t even spend half of what those idiotas at Café Britt would have charged me.

So Milwaukeeans, drink your café con CONFIANZA (o con leche). Knowing what I now know about the Costa Rican beans, I have a lot of faith that Alterra is doing right by farmers in other countries as well.

It just totally made my trip to see my two homes connected. The environment, development and profit CAN be sustainable.