Part of our mandate here in Costa Rica is to build connections and relationships with local businesses to support Tico families. And a few weeks ago, we went up to a coffee plantation (about an hour away from the centre) for a tour. This coffee plantation is owned and operated by Deiner and his family.
Mary and Brent from the Navina team met Deiner at the Uvita markets one day and since then have spoken a number of times about coming up to do this tour. So we finally created the chance to do exactly that.
It turns out Deiner and his family are quite the entrepreneurs – not only growing, processing, packaging and selling their own coffee, but they also have a small corner store on top of the mountain for almost anything you could need! It’s like a super-mini walmart 😉 His wife and mother also have that entrepreneurial spirit – making handbags, wallets and purses from recycled fabrics and other materials. They’re passionate about what they do and they do a lot!
But back to the coffee!
We got a first hand view of how they run their farm and create their amazing product. All the way from cultivating their own seedlings, to the way they maintain their soils organically, how they manage lichen and fungus with as few chemicals as possible, how they harvest, dry, separate, sort, and roast. It was incredible to watch the whole thing take place.
And get this. I (Drew) don’t like coffee. I have never liked the taste. (I have always liked the smell). But I tried Deiner’s coffee, as one should on a tour like this, and lo and behold, I actually liked it. I was shocked. There’s no bitter aftertaste.
So that was really something. It was also incredibly cool to see their custom built roaster, designed using an old washing machine. Yep. You gotta see this place!
Here’s a video of our experience:
When you come to the centre, we can absolutely set up a tour with Deiner and his family for you. They also cook an amazing Costa Rican lunch for you on tour. Just to cap off an incredible morning.