Coffee production in Costa Rica

Coffee production in the country began in 1779 in the Meseta Central which had ideal soil and climate conditions for coffee plantations. Coffea arabica first imported to Europe through Arabia, whence it takes its name, was introduced to the country directly from Ethiopia. In the nineteenth century, the Costa Rican government strongly encouraged coffee production, and the industry fundamentally transformed a colonial regime and village economy built on direct extraction by a city-based elite towards organized production for export on a larger scale. The government offered farmers plots of land for anybody who wanted to harvest the plants. The coffee plantation system in the country therefore developed in the nineteenth century largely as a result of the government's open policy, although the problem with coffee barons did play a role in internal differentiation and inequality in growth. They invested heavily in the Costa Rican coffee industry, becoming the principal customer for exports until World War II. This led to the establishment of the Anglo-Costa Rican Bank in 1863, which provided finance to allow the industry to grow. Growers and traders of the coffee industry transformed the Costa Rican economy, and contributed to modernization in the country, which provided funding for young aspiring academics to study in Europe. The revenue generated by the coffee industry in Costa Rica funded the first railroads linking the country to the Atlantic Coast in 1890, the “Ferrocarril al Atlántico”. The National Theater itself in San José is a product of the first coffee farmers in the country. In 1955 an export tax was placed on Costa Rican coffee. The current export tax is levied at 1.5%. In 1983, a major blight struck the coffee industry in the country, throwing the industry into a crisis that coincided with falling market prices; world coffee prices plummeted around 40% after the collapse of the world quota cartel system. By the late 1980s and early 1990s, coffee production had increased, from 158,000 tons in 1988 to 168,000 in 1992, but prices had fallen, from $316 million in 1988 to $266 million in 1992. ==Production==

Coffee production in the country relies on cheap, seasonal labor: Nicaraguan immigrants are often employed on these plantations. Coffee cultivators in the country are paid very little, often as little as US$1.5 per basket picked, but the wages are not less than in many other industries of the Costa Rican primary sectors. The berries are picked by the workers and are transported to processing plants to be washed and to remove the pulp around the beans. In Costa Rica the processing plants where this process is done are called beneficios but the effects of pulp removal may result in non-beneficial environmental effects (see below). The beans are then laid out to dry in the sun, then sorted according to size and shape. Although mechanical drying is gradually replacing manual labor in places, time-consuming sun drying, and equipment are required to dry the wet seeds after pulping. Once processing is complete, the coffee is bagged into burlap sacks (with or without a moisture barrier bag) and stored until exported. Eight growing regions and seasons The eight recognized growing regions and season are illustrated in the table below. The finest coffee is typically grown at altitudes of 1,200 to 1,700 meters, in a shorter winter growing season; the lower quality coffee is typically grown at altitudes below 1,200 metres, in a longer growing season that lasts from late summer through to winter. ==Reputation==

Costa Rican coffee beans are considered among the best in the world. Tarrazú is thought to produce the most desirable coffee beans in Costa Rica. Following the great success of Panama Geisha coffee, Geisha Coffee production started in 2012 in the area of Tarrazú. Tarrazú Geisha coffee became the most expensive coffee sold by Starbucks in 48 of their stores in the United States, using the Clover automated French press. The Agriculture and Livestock Ministry and the Costa Rican Coffee Institute organize an annual festival: National Coffee Day, during which a producer is awarded the Cup of Excellence for the highest quality of coffee produced in Costa Rica. The winner sells their coffee through an auction to the international community. == Awards and recognition ==

In the past decade, Costa Rican coffee has garnered numerous prestigious awards, reflecting its exceptional quality and global recognition. Notable achievements include: • Cup of Excellence: This international program awards the best specialty coffees worldwide. In 2023, the Los Santos region secured the top three positions, with producer Johel Monge achieving first place with a score of 91.08. • World Coffee Challenge 2022: Costa Rica excelled in this international competition, winning six first prizes across various categories, including Arabica Natural, Arabica Honey, and Sustainable Coffee. • Sintercafé Award: At the XVIII edition of Sintercafé, the best coffees from Costa Rica were honored. Winners included Barrantes Estate SHB from Cafetalera Herbazú and Don Quijote from Deli Café ==Environmental impact==

Although coffee production in Costa Rica is a major source of revenue, it is not without its environmental problems. The main effect on the environment is the pollution of rivers during the separation and de-pulping process at the beneficio processing plants or mills. After the beans are separated from the pulp, the beans are left to ferment in a water tank to remove the gummy gel that surrounds the bean. By the end of the drying process, there is leftover pulp and sugar water. In the past, many coffee producers dumped the pulp waste directly into the rivers. Approximately 57% of the coffee bean consists of contaminants which destroy wildlife in rivers and may harm people. The pulp as it decays in river water has the effect of depleting the water of oxygen and killing off aquatic life. By the early 1990s, the problem had raised serious concerns, and in January 1995 the government passed new legislation which imposed regulations on the proper treatment of solid and liquid waste. Some farmers in the country have attempted to use the pulp waste in soils as a fertilizer, but deforestation for coffee production may result in soil erosion and additional environmental costs. Deforestation is not new in Costa Rica. Major deforestation began in the 1830s with the introduction of coffee cultivation in the Meseta Central region, which was the cradle of the nation's coffee industry. By 1900 however, deforestation had accelerated rapidly in other parts of the country. Coffee was ideally suited to the soil and bio-climatic conditions of the volcanic mountain ranges of the central meseta, but by this time cultivation had begun extensively in the more vulnerable hill forests to provide coffee that was in increasing demand for export. By the 1970s and 1980s, this along with the removal of forest for pasture land and ranching had resulted in an annual forestry loss of 4% per annum, one of the highest rates in Latin America at the time. ==See also==