From Alex…

Costa Rica

Central Valley

Every year coffee production in Costa Rica decreases by 5%, a significant amount considering coffee is the country’s second largest export. Farmers can often sell their land to real estate developers and instantly receive more money than decades of coffee production would ever yield.

Juan Ramon Alvarado comes from a family with deep roots in coffee. Since 1880 his family has farmed coffee throughout the central valley. Once numerous, all his families' many farms have now been sold. A few years ago, Juan made the difficult decision not to sell the last remaining tierra in his family, dubbing it Brumas del Zurqui.

Juan chose to continue the tradition of farming coffee, and his decision was a good one: last year Brumas del Zurqui took first place in the Costa Rica’s Crop of Gold auction(now called Cup of Excellence). He is now able to get consistent prices for his coffee, good enough to earn a living and provide generous wages to seasonal and permanent workers.

What is Juan up to this year? He is busy planting dozens of geisha trees!

These low yielding, high-maintenance trees will start to produce their delicious fruit in 3 to 4 years.

Juan and I spent a terrific morning at Brumas del Zurquis, discussing the workings of his farm and it’s hopeful future. Juan adamantly refused to let me pay for lunch, and his hospitality did not stop there: he offered me a geisha seedling to take back to the states! Of course, I could not accept it. Even if it did make it past customs, Missouri in winter is no place for a geisha tree. It belongs in the fertile soil of Brumas del Zurqui.