The plantation I visited is located on the slopes of Poás volcano. It's fertile soil contributes to the high quality. Doka is considered to be one of the oldest plantations in the country (famous for their wet mill, that sorts out the different qualities) plus it is still a family-run business. An astounding fact is that the indigenous people don't do the daunting picking anymore. More than 90% of the workers call Nicaragua, Costa Rica's northern neighbour, their home. Another aspect that surprised me that the people here don't keep their supreme quality beans. The vast majority will be exported. That is because people drink a LOT of coffee, which is usually
prepared with lots of milk and sugar. Consequently quality comes in second place.
There exist three different types of raw beans that differ in their quality:
The most desired one is the so-called peaberry in which the coffe's natural occuring sugar is preserved. That is because of a genetic defect. Attempts to grow this special kind have failed.
Next comes the "normal" Arabica bean ( only Arabica is grown anyways)
Lastly there remain the beans that are not considered "perfect" as they have either still their skin, are too small, wrinkled or whatever.
Young coffee plants
Older coffee plants
Banana and mango trees are grown throughout the plantation to distract insects
Arabica bean
The last quality category
And here comes the coffee queen: peaberry (roasted in this picture)
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