....from Alex

Central Valley
Costa Rica


COOP NARANJO


Burmas del Zurqui, the farm I wrote about here, is a great example of a small producer having success by taking quality into his own hands. The benefits of having a beneficio, or micro-mill, are many. However, many farms are too small to have their own mill, in which case their best bet is to participate in a cooperative. Coop Naranjo, in Costa Rica´s central valley, is proof that being a large coop does not prevent being progressive and focusing on quality.

Jose Antonio, who overseas coffee operations and quality control, cheerfully explained the numerous facets of the Coops large operation. Coop Naranjo processes over 40,000 bags of coffee a year, making it one of the largest coffee collectors in Costa Rica.

I asked, but Jose would not let me play with the colored balls. Maybe next year.

The Coop is progressing in different ways. They are active participants in the Cup of Excellence, and are currently creating new systems for locating and separating out more quality lots of coffee to participate in future auctions. They are also exercising their green thumb: below is a picture of Jose in their nursery, where they are attempting to cultivate arabica coffee plants which have been cross bred with Robusta seedlings to give the plants stronger, heartier root systems.

We will likely be sampling coffees from Naranjo in the coming months, as they are planning to send beans to our friends at Royal Coffee in New York....good news for us!