Coffee competence in Costa Rica

Coffee competence is a top priority at Thermoplan. Only if we know coffee and its history well, we are able to develop our machines in the best way possible. This is how they brew the best coffee specialities for our customers, cup after cup. In order to expand this expertise, our division managers were in Costa Rica at the end of October to take a closer look at some of the country's coffee farms.

Our journey began on one of the coffee plantations of the Coopelibertad, where we were shown around by Don Julian. The size corresponds to about 4 football fields. The plantation looked like out of a picture book, richly overgrown with various other plants between the coffee trees. The harvesting process here is done in elaborate manual labour by numerous farmers who belong to the cooperative. And since coffee cherries do not all ripen at the same time, the harvesting process is repeated up to three times during the season from November to February. We also helped with the harvest.

After the exciting harvest on the plantation, we watched the processing of the coffee cherries at the Coopelibertad. Peeling, washing, fermenting, drying and sorting takes a lot of time and know-how. We were then allowed to taste the end product in a professional cup tasting. There was a clear difference in taste between the varieties.

We also visited one of the largest farms in the country, the "Hacienda Alsacia" of Starbucks, during our Costa Rica trip. The coffee plantation is open to the public and designed to be visited by coffee lovers. During harvest time, around 500 coffee pickers are employed here, who receive accommodation as well as medical care. The plantation grows the finest Arabica coffee beans for Starbucks beverages around the world.