Cafe Britt: The Flavor of Costa Rica
Carlos Villalobos
As I struggled to get the bag open, the intoxicating aromas sneaked out and infiltrated the kitchen. This is not your ordinary Nescafe Clasico, this is the good stuff. It was a little bitter for me at first but as I kept taking more sips, I began to taste the hints of chocolate and honey. I was soon overcome with a sense of relaxation and ease; my mind began to fill with memories of my time in Costa Rica. I remember waking up to howler monkeys and drinking coffee on the balcony of my hotel room in Manuel Antonio. I remember hiking through the dense jungle and swimming in the Pacific Ocean. It was almost as if this coffee possessed some magical abilities to bring experiences back to life.
Costa Rica has the perfect conditions for growing coffee - high altitudes, cool climates, fertile soil. Coffee has been and still is a major export for the country. But in the 90s, Cafe Britt’s founder, Steve Aronson, and Pablo Vargas worked to decommodify coffee. As Don Pablo talked about in his presentation, they wanted to sell the finished product by employing local talents. They sold their coffee in airports, hotels, and parks, which thanks to the growing numbers of tourists, allowed Cafe Britt to expand to other Latin American countries.
Of course, Don Pablo also talked about the tediousness and struggles of running Cafe Britt. He talked about how less customers are willing to pay a differential for organic coffee. He talked about certain investments that are only recently beginning to turn a profit. He ranked and explained what countries make good candidates for growing and selling coffee based on political stability and water supply. Don Pablo also emphasized their strive for quality and dedication to protecting the environment. Cafe Britt has been carbon neutral for 10 years and continues to reduce their environmental impact by supporting organizations that protect and rehabilitate wildlife, as well as programs that help vulnerable communities. As a business student, this really fascinated me and helped me to see that not all businesses are willing to sacrifice the environment for profit. With a growing awareness of environmental responsibility, I hope that more corporations will follow along in these efforts for sustainability.
After Don Pablo’s presentation, we went along with Maria for the coffee tour. I was able to taste many different variations of their coffee. I was also able to see the different stages of the coffee: from cherry to beans ready for roasting. I got to peel parchment from coffee beans and even got to wear a basket just like the pickers wear; my respect to them because I know that working in el campo is very physically demanding. Similar to the United States, a lot of this strenuous work is taken up by immigrants from other countries like Panama and Nicaragua. This all really made me appreciate the work that goes into making a bag of coffee.
I really admire Cafe Britt for its efforts in sustainability, and its workers as well. I really enjoyed learning about the company’s story, and learning about the coffee production process. I like that they do everything, from roasting to packaging, inside of Costa Rica, and that they give back to the local environment and community. Cafe Britt really is the flavor of Costa Rica.
