Organic Coffees • Premium Coffees • Flavored Coffees • Decaffeinated Coffees • Coffees By Roast • BBQ Rub

Central America Travelogue

January 8, 2002

After spending a day traveling to Costa Rica from San Francisco, we left the capital, San Jose, and made the hour and a half drive to the Orosi Valley, one of the leading coffee growing regions in Central America located in the center of the country. The Orosi is home to the Chucaras Springs Estate, one of the principal coffee growers that Jeremiah's Pick works with. The valley is lush, with volcanic soil, perpetually green with extensive first growth rain forest, rivers (the Rio Grande and the Orosi) and creeks flowing throughout. Home to rainforest, farms and coffee plantations, it is also the home of the Chucaras hot springs.

The Falla family grows and manages farms throughout the valley. The family, originally from El Salvador, first began farming in the Orosi 20 years ago. Ricardo Falla is the owner of this estate. His father chose the site because of the natural hot springs and named it "Chucaras", which translates to wild mare, in honor of the spirit of his wife. While the plots that they own and manage vary in size, they share a common theme; careful land husbandry. These plots start around 1100 meters at the base of the valley and go as high as 1400 meters on the hillsides. They are carefully tended by hand to minimize erosion. Shade trees are planted as needed to maximize growth. The vast majority of the plants are Cataui and Catura.

The variation in elevation allows a staggered harvest that begins in November, peaks in January and continues through March. Coffee beans are picked throughout the valley and then trucked to the mill. The Orosi estate is a fully integrated coffee producer, from picking right though to preperation for export in green beans. This process is as complicated and delicate as growing healthy coffee plants.

The mill takes advantage of its hillside location to minimize energy consumption. Gravity feeds the fermentation, milling and seperation channels and water from natural springs is the transport medium. Bright red cherries are carried along channels and then separated by weight to eliminate low quality "floaters". The sweet smell of the pulped cherries dominates the mill.

Once the pulp is removed the cherries are carried downhill, separated and washed before being loaded into large drums that slowly dry the beans. Once dried, they are stored in wooden holding areas from 30 to 45 days. The use of wood storage allows for better control over the final drying process before the parchment is removed prior to exportation by eliminating the condensation that often occurs in metal storage areas. Only at this stage is the parchment removed (it is then stored until it can be burned in the dryers). Ricardo is working on numerous mechanical advances to reduce energy consumption. After the final layer of parchment is peeled the coffee is ready for export. Parchment is then burned for fuel along with wood in the rotary dyers.

Runoff from the mill is held in a series of holding ponds below. Natural bacteria is introduced into these ponds so that pollutants are removed before the runoff is released into the river.

The cherry pulp is then stored in large holding area until it can be used as mulch and as a natural fertilizer. Ricardo has planted hundreds of Eucalyptus trees for dual purposes, first for shade and second as a natural source of organic matter as the selected subspecies produces lots of bark which then falls onto the grounds.

The northern part of this farm borders on an area known as Purisil. The family has set aside 500 hectares of rainforest jungle bordering on Tapanti National park. This area is home to hundreds of hummingbirds and butterflies along with 160 identified species of birds.

The Falla family has built or rebuilt 100 homes in the area as housing for employees and workers in the Orosi Valley. Housing is provided free of charge.

We returned to San Jose that evening in the rain.

January 9, 2002

We visited San Jose today. It is a ramshackle city without much of a center or character. It is the home to our broker in the area Pan American Coffee. We spent the day cupping various coffees from the area. Pan American maintains a laboratory with its own roasters and cupping facility. Our tasting notes on Ricardo's coffees:

Citrus with good acidity. Lots of high notes. Well balanced. Good body. (Note: Ricardo's coffee has now arrived at our roaster and is being used in a number of our coffees including French Roast and Private Reserve).

We also tasted his coffee screened for larger size. It lacked some of the character of the first coffee. It was the common opinion that the smaller size beans contained more concentrated flavors and higher acidity. We then traveled to Managua that afternoon. After the relative wealth of Costa Rica, it presented quite a contrast.

January 10, 2002

It is not every day that you get to attend the inauguration of a President. Enrique Bolaños, the third democratically elected President in a row in Nicaragua was sworn in at a large soccer stadium on the outskirts of Managua on this day. Under a blazing sun, dignitaries from around the world paid their respects to him while women dressed in blue jumpsuits handed out Pepsis to the crowd.

That afternoon we visited the artists colony of Masaye. This old city is filled with craftsmen and an open-air market set into an old fort. We came across a store that sold drums and percussion instruments. A spirited jam session with Jeremiah and the band playing that evening followed. Everyone, including the owner of the store had a good time. Except for the pig.

Nicaragua is a poor country with a big heart. That evening we attended an inauguration party where we met the Vice President, himself a coffee grower. Our host, Henry Hüeck, seemed to know every person at the party who turned out to be either a minister or an ambassador. There was widespread optimism that Bolaños will make a real difference for Nicaragua.

January 11, 2002

The road out of Managua to Henry's farms in Matagalpa rises slowly from sea level towards a series of hills that grow in size as elevation increases. Several large lakes and volcanoes dominate the views. Four lanes shrink to two and the coffee growing region begins. We pass through smaller cities and see a typical open air market by the side of the road.

The first thing that strikes you is the coffee processing and drying stations called beneficios. Most are controlled by larger companies such as CISA and ECON/Atlantic. They take advantage of the dry heat and reduced humidity at this lower elevation to dry what seem to be acres of green beans still in their parchment. The beans are spread out on concrete patios. Workers turn the coffee constantly with long wooden paddles. Large warehouses hold the dried green beans for another 30 to 60 days until the humidity is reduced to a level suitable for export. They also contain sorting and milling machines that remove the parchment, a dried skin on the bean, just prior to packing into burlap sacks for export.

After viewing several beneficios, the differences between them become clear. The commercial grade plant, CISA, dries all of the beans on black plastic sheets. Atlantic is in the middle. A new beneficio that we also visited, Esperanza, is dedicated to the careful processing needed to yield a quality specialty coffee. They store the beans in a concrete tilt up warehouse instead of corrugated steel. This greatly reduces swings in temperature of the beans during day and night.

We then came to the town of El Tuma La Dalia. Here the paved road came to an end. This small town is full of collection station where small producers bring sacks of coffee cherries to be sold, some of which have already been pulped. There is no control in these collections, one farmers product is dumped with another's. They can vary in quality and taste. With the reduction in coffee prices many people are unable to find work. The government is helping where it can, providing jobs fixing roads.

Our drive continued to the first of Henry's farms that we visited, San Martin. The drive in was covered in mist. As we reached the farm the peak that dominates this area "Peñas Blancas" emerged from the clouds. This small valley is in effect a self-contained ecosystem. It is quite wild with a large amount of the property left intact as primary rainforest. The coffee is grown interspersed with shade trees that grown in the area. The hills were filled with groups of pickers as the harvest was well underway. They communicated with each other by trumpet, making for strange sounds in the hills.

The farm, located between 1000 and 1200 meters, maintains a simple pulping mill and quarters for the workers. When we arrived at the site we were surprised to find armed guards. Henry's reason for having the guards was straightforward; there are periodic problems with bandits in the area and the year before the owner of the adjacent property was killed during a payroll robbery.

Workers are everywhere, as this is the peak of the harvest season. They are dressed in a variety of clothes, form US hand-me-downs like Chicago Bulls t-shirts to traditional native costumes. Many of the children in the area have blue eyes and dark skin, a reflection of early German settlement in the area. This is a new farm, they began growing coffee about 6 years ago. We sample some of the coffee. Even here under poor brewing conditions, it shows a strong wild character.

Leaving San Martine we drove across the valley to his other farm, La Virgen or Two Angels, named after his daughters who traveled with us. It is a contrast, older and more lush, set in rolling hills, so well cared for it looks like a coffee arboretum. We watch the sun go down over the valley listening to a cacophony of bird-calls.

At Les Virges Henry has begun to modernize the farm and introduce his vision. He has built a new kitchen with an automatic tortilla machine and gas cooking stations, a school and the only infirmary in the district. But here the reality of how hard it is to make things happen in the remote countryside becomes clear. The two propane powered tortilla machines yet to work two weeks after they were installed. The propane grills are not burning properly, causing the kitchens to fill with soot. Repairs are at least a week away and for now, the tortillas are still made by hand.

We shared a simple dinner of rice, beans and chicken with his foreman and the nurse before moving on.

During our visit, we learned about shade and how it works in smaller estates. Shade is just one of the elements needed to grow great coffee. But if shade is naturally present, too much will damage the plants, increasing moisture and leading to problems with fungus, a natural enemy of the coffee plant. Each farm we visited had planted trees in an integrated manner. For some, it was more important the trees served as a windbreak than to shade coffee plants.

January 12, 2002

We spend the evening at Selva Negra, a privately owned reserve located on a lake in the hills above Matagalpa. The country surrounding Selva Negra is above 1400 meters and feels like it. It is the first time we have felt cold since arriving in Central America. During the night I am awakened by the sound of howler monkeys playing on the roof of my cabin. The owners of Selva Negra have been growing coffee for decades. The plants are hidden in the forest and jungle that surround it.

The next day we set out to visit other coffee growers in the area. We are joined by another local grower, Mauricio Pierson. We visit his farm, La Esperanza, midway between Selva Negra and Pena Blanca. It is a striking vista from his farm. His coffee plants, grown on steep ridges between 800 and 1100 meters, are shaded by banana trees. His farm is small and the processing is simple. He is moving his production to specialty coffee as quickly as he can afford.

Here we see a lot of the fungus that causes damage to coffee plants, called "Rooster's Eye" or "Oro de Gallo". A small set of yellow circles on the green leaves of the coffee plant, it leads to weakened growth, decreased production and eventually death of the plant. With the recent decline in coffee prices, many farmers who sell commodity level product are selling below their cost of production with the hope they can survive for another year. In order to survive they cut back on costs, including fertilizer. This weakens the plants further, making them more susceptible to the fungus. It is a vicious cycle that may lead to a large spike in world coffee prices in a year or two from now.

We drive all day in back roads throughout this area visiting and viewing estates. We see one farm where the owners attempted to inject fertilizer and failed. Not having any more money for the year the plants are weak and have little fruit. Another estate, La Gloria, is a beautiful farm owned by a lawyer and an accountant in Managua. As remote owners they are not interested in investing in the farm in a down price cycle and the Rooster's Eye is everywhere. Farms in the area are 50-60% harvested. We find the foreman and talk with him. He has 5% harvested. The workers confirm the fact that there is very little coffee to pick. Many are moving on.

One of the saddest estates in the area is known as La Fundadora, or the founder. Originally owned by the Somoza family, it was seized by the Sandinistas and turned into cooperatives. Henry explains that since then 90% of the estate has fallen out of production. Coffee plants are like ghost towns covered in jungle vines. We stop an old man walking through the cooperative center. We ask him how things are going. Poorly he says. Why we ask. He puts his hand in his pocket and says "mal administracion" (i.e. bad administrtion). He quickly walks away.

We return to Managua that evening.

January 13, 2002

The next day we visited Granada, one of the oldest cities in the Western Hemisphere, founded in the early 1500's. It is truly unspoiled and beautiful with a classic central plaza that dominates the town. Saying goodbye to Henry, his family and Nicaragua was difficult.

We flew back to Costa Rica that day. A small aside, on the way back from the airport in San Jose to our hotel we went over the trip to Nicaragua with Ricardo Falla, our host. As we pulled up to café/restaurant to have a late dinner in San Jose, he started kidding us. So, you have met the Vice President of Nicaragua, how would you like to meet the President of Costa Rica?" We said sure, thinking he was kidding. Well, there at a sidewalk café having a coffee with his wife was the President of the country. No security, no uproar, just another couple out for the evening. We chatted with him briefly and moved on to our table. What a different world.

January 14, 2002

The next morning we flew to Panama City where we met Amaris Jiminez, the owner of the Cantares estate. He is the neighbor of Ramon Garcia de Paredes, the owner of Café Ole, which we were visiting that day. We flew on a small plane from Panama City back towards the Costa Rican border to an area known as Volcan.

Volcan is in the Chiquiri region, located near a dominant and dormant Volcano called Baru. On the other side of Baru is another famous coffee growing area, Bouquete. Just as in Nicaragua, as we drove from the coast into this mountainous region the temperature and views changed dramatically. Panama City is hot, humid and crowded. The Volcan region is green, lush and temperate. The other big difference was a left over of the American influence on Panama, good roads. The part of the Volcan, known as Nueva Suiza, or New Switzerland, it is a rich agricultural region full of farms and dairies. Locally grown onions, strawberries and carrots stand next to orange growers and coffee plants.

The Café Ole estate stands on a former pasture that has been transformed into a graceful coffee estate. It is planted completely in Cataui and split up into several growing areas. The landscape in this area is dominated by the Chiquiri river which flows through the property forming one of its borders.

In order to set nitrogen into this new growing area Ramon has planted thousands of bean plants as well as shade trees where needed. Ramon is a progressive farmer in many ways. He treats his pickers, housing for coffee pickersmostly indigenous migrant workers, with great respect. He has built housing, a school and a store for the workers (many of whom are permanent) along with a soccer field and strategically placed covered rest areas with drinking water throughout the farm. The result is an estate where workers have been coming back year after year. (Note: We are waiting for a container of his coffee to arrive as this is written).

January 15, 2002

The next day is spent with Amaris Jiminez at his estate, Los Cantares. Los Cantares is one of the oldest estates in Panama. It was founded by a leading coffee growing family, the Sittons, in the 1920's who sold it to Amaris in 1993. You know this farm is different from the moment that you arrive, you must cross the Chiquri to reach the farm over a narrow footbridge. No vehicles are on the farm and everything that goes in or out must be carried by hand.

The coffee plants are the real star here, with the majority between 40 and 60 years old and replanted only as necessary when production weakens. 50% of the plants are typical and the remainder a variety of others. Many of the trees are over 15 feet high. Amaris replants to keep the crop constant from year to year. His deep love for this farm is reflected in the wonderful coffee that is produced. (Note: Los Cantares will be featured as a Pick of the Harvest coffee at our grocery displays starting in May).

We finish the day traveling to Bouquete to attend the annual coffee harvest fair. Prior to that we visit another interesting estate that will be bringing another old growth coffee area into organic certification next year. More on that estate will follow as it develops.

January 16, 2002

As we prepare to return to the United States there is time to reflect upon the commercial realities of the weak coffee market on growers throughout Central America. The famous historical Tres Rios region of Costa Rica is located directly in the expanding San Jose Metropolitan region. With the decline in prices, the trend of ripping up coffee plants and building housing only accelerates. In the countryside farmers are giving up on coffee and turning to other crops that have a better return.

The process of bringing great coffee to our customers is much more complex than just roasting a great bean. There must be an investment in time and money that begins when a plant is started in a nursery and carries right though to the careful milling and processing to prepare it for export.

At Jeremiah's Pick we are entering into long-term contracts at above market pricing with the estates that we want to work with. Doing so insures a steady cash flow to keep these farms healthy and producing great coffee and provides us with the knowledge that we can supply the best coffee on a consistent basis to our customers no matter what the market price. By working with our growers we are continually striving to be sure that only the best coffees reach our customers.

The trip was filled with powerful experiences. Our days were dominated by, as always, people, coffee and food. coco milkThere is no way to adequately describe the warmth and friendships that we developed on this trip or the flavors of coconut milk, cane juice, plantains and black beans. I hope that these words and photos can bring a piece of this trip to Central America to you.

If you want to comment on this article or contact me, please do so at j.kragen@jeremiahspick.com.