When you think of coffee, think Costa Rica
By Anne | March 19, 2014 at 10:47 AM EDT | No Comments
Britt is a larger company in Costa Rica specializing in coffee and chocolates, They offer a coffee tour with coffee and chocolate tastings, and we couldn't resist the opportunity.
We arrive at Britt with only one missed turn per the GPS on a sunny Monday. There are some large tour buses in the parking lot and we have visions of 40 or 50 people on the tour. Soon our 12:45 pm tour group is forming - only 8 people, great!
Our guides point out the 8 coffee growing regions: San Ramon, Naranjo, Palmares, Poás/Barva, Terrazu, Tres Rios, Chirripo and Pittier discussing the characteristics of the regions and what is needed for good coffee. In our travels we have passed through three of these regions. We learn that a coffee plant usually produces one crop a year for 25 years. There are different pruning routines after the harvest each year based upon the age of the plant. Britt buys their coffee beans from local farmers who meet their specifications including hand-harvesting.
By Anne | March 19, 2014 at 10:47 AM EDT | No Comments
Britt is a larger company in Costa Rica specializing in coffee and chocolates, They offer a coffee tour with coffee and chocolate tastings, and we couldn't resist the opportunity.
We arrive at Britt with only one missed turn per the GPS on a sunny Monday. There are some large tour buses in the parking lot and we have visions of 40 or 50 people on the tour. Soon our 12:45 pm tour group is forming - only 8 people, great!
Our guides point out the 8 coffee growing regions: San Ramon, Naranjo, Palmares, Poás/Barva, Terrazu, Tres Rios, Chirripo and Pittier discussing the characteristics of the regions and what is needed for good coffee. In our travels we have passed through three of these regions. We learn that a coffee plant usually produces one crop a year for 25 years. There are different pruning routines after the harvest each year based upon the age of the plant. Britt buys their coffee beans from local farmers who meet their specifications including hand-harvesting.
We walk through a small coffee plantation on the grounds. We are lucky to see the coffee plants in bloom as the blooms only last three days. The plantation includes large trees for shade as well as banana and cocoa plants. There is also a wild parrot.
After seeing the modern roasting and packaging facility we go into a small theater to learn about making and tasting coffee, which includes never reheating coffee as it bring out bitterness and acidity. We also learn that Britt does not use any chemicals in producing their decaf coffee, they use the European steam method. William volunteers to be one of the taste testers in the front of the group. After the tasting session we are let loose in the gift shop where we can taste all the varieties of Britt coffee as well as their chocolates. The chocolates tend to be 70% cocoa around coffee beans, cocoa nibs and fruit, a very different style than the Sibú chocolates we tasted last week.