Coffee Tree Life Cycle

Here are some pictures showing the different life cycles of a coffee tree. Coffee trees are fruit trees, and a relative of the gardenia. Coffee seeds are usually germinated and planted in a greenhouse at a nursery where the delicate plants are taken care of for the first 8 months of their lives. The third picture shows rows and rows of young coffee tree seedlings at the Santa Eduivegas nursery (part of the Doka Estate). The second picture is of Orlando Alfaro, one of our aronomists in Costa Rica, taking the group through the life cycle of a coffee tree. Once the seedlings are about 8 months old, and a bit stronger, they are taken to the coffee farm where they will be planted (see picture number 1), and spend the remainder of the life cycle. After planting, it will take approximately 3 years before the coffee tree will flower for the first time, and the tree will produce its first coffee harvest after 4-5 years of hard work on the farmers part, investing care and time into the plant to guide it towards its first crop. When the coffee tree flowers, the flowers fall away and the green cherries appear, and then it takes an additional 9 months for the green cherries to turn deep red, the sign that the coffee cherries are ready to be picked. Most coffee trees will be at their peak of production during years seven through fifteen, and at this time are generally pruned back to assist the tree and help stimulate new growth. After about 20 - 25 years, most of the coffee trees are "exhausted", and no longer produce sufficient crops, and at this time, coffee farmers will replace about 5% of their farm with seedlings and repeat the whole process again.

Next week, our featured bold coffee will be Cafe Estima - our blend of Fair Trade Certified Latin American and African Beans. Taste this coffee from a french press today, and think about the long process and the hard work of hundreds of people who brought this coffee to you.

Enjoy, Cindy GH

Sorting through cherries at the end of the day

Just had a french press of (RED) with a partner, and it inspired me to create another post!
This shot was taken just outside Bella Vista and shows the coffee pickers sorting through their cherries at the end of the day. Although the utmost care is taken in only harvesting perfectly ripe red cherries, some underripe beans and leaves do find their way into the basket. Pickers can leave up to 2% green cherries in their harvest, but anything above that means their basket will be turned away. Many keep the green cherries and try to ripen them further in the sun on a patio, and then process, roast and consume it locally.

The average picker can pick from 100 - 150 lbs of cherry per day, and will be paid about $1.30 per cajuela (a cajuela is the volumetric measurement of cherries, and is about 13kgs or 28.6 lbs). The pickers work on both small farms and large estates, with 95% of farms being between 1-5 hectares (1 hectare = 2.47 acres). The other 5% of farms are large estates that account for 40% of production in Costa Rica.

Tune back in next week for the life cycle of a coffee tree!

Picking the Worlds Best Coffee

Here is a shot of some coffee pickers hand picking ripe red cherries at the peak of their flavour. One of these coffee trees will only produce 1 - 1 1/2 pounds of coffee beans THIS YEAR. Each flavourlock bag of coffee in your store represents the yearly production of ONE TREE....

As we reassert ourselves as the COFFEE AUTHORITY with our Spring Promotion, I thought that I would share some quick coffee facts:

25 million people work in the coffee industry.
Over 60 countries world wide grow coffee.
Coffee is the second most traded commodity after oil.
Brazil is the world's biggest producer of coffee, accounting for 25-30% of world production.
Latin America accounted for 78% of our 2008 global purchases.
Coffee trees take 4-5 years to produce their first harvest.

And it is our responsibility to get it right in the stores. As a partner, I ask you that for the Spring Promotion:
Taste the Coffee of the Week, record your thoughts in your new coffee passport, and sign off on the Coffee Passport Tracking Poster.
Keep your passport in your apron, as part of your dress code, so that all of the information is at your fingertips to help you connect with a customer
Make sure that the brew baskets are so clean you can see your reflection, your urns have fresh faucet cups and your grinder is perfectly calibrated. This will ensure that our customers really taste the worlds best coffee.

Share the passion that our farmers have...love what you do...I do!
Cindy GH

Douglas picking coffee Day 1

This is a video of a coffee picker named Douglas demonstrating his experience and skill!

Not a great picture, but a great story

You just know that we are having a positive impact in origin when the principal and three students open up their school in the middle of summer vacation so that they could greet us, show off the improvements to their school, and thank us directly for being such a great company and contributing to the well being of their school and town. The principal spoke with such passion for her school and her students, and was so grateful for the new lunch room that recent funding provided for the school. She mentioned that when the price of coffee is good, the school does well as they rely soley on the Terrazu Cooperative and the money they make from selling us our coffee for their programming. It was so touching to have her apologize (more than once) that the school was closed, and that she could not show off all of the wonderful things going on at her school. She made sure to invite us back during the school year so she could have us see the quality of education her students are receiving. I think I just may have to take her up on that!

Cindy GH

Ed Barker and Mark Chandler from the Earthwatch Institute sharing their work with us at Ernesto Chacon's farm in Terrazu. Our partnership started in 2007 and has had a significant impact on the sustainability of coffee farming. Earthwatch's purpose is to bring people and science together to motivate people to something to positively impact the world. Terrazu is one of the most highly productive coffee areas of the world, and it is a great testament to our partnership with Earthwatch that this has been achieved while limiting the negative impact on the earth by promoting environmentally friendly methods of coffee farming. We are fortunate to work with such a great organization, and the farmers who have opened up their farms to test how to increase coffee yields using natural and sustainable methods. "Green" coffee took on a whole new meaning with this visit!

Cindy GH

One of my gold medal moments in Costa Rica

A picture of Ernesto Chacon, a small farmer with 3 hectares as part of the coope Terrazu who works with the Earthwatch Institute on his farm. Ernesto and his family were so welcoming the day we visited his farm, and very proud to show us "the best coffee in Costa Rica (his words). What really struck me was how thankful they were to meet us, so that they could show us their gratitude for what we have done for them, the opportunities for their family, and the postive impact that we have had on their community. At one point his wife patted Ernesto and his son on their tummies and exclaimed "look at how well-fed my family is, we have a good life", and it struck me that we are making a world of difference to people in origin. Even if you do not sell a lot of whole bean coffee, know that every latte you perfectly prepare and hand off is helping people on another continent have a better standard of living, and all they ask us to do is "sell more coffee"!

Working Hard on the Farm

Here are some pictures of Ward, Marie and myself working at Doka estates during our last day of our trip!

Speaking of Team Canada

The Canadians on our last day in Costa Rica at Doka Estate...

Preparing for the experience of a lifetime....

Well, we are back in the day-to-day life of the stores. We will continue to post on the blog once per week with more pictures and stories from our trip to Costa Rica, so please make sure to continue to check back and add your comments.

Today, Canada gets ready for the Opening of the Olympics, where we celebrate the best in the world in a variety of different pursuits, so I thought that I would share some pictures of the best COFFEE in the world as well as a few anecodotes from our time in Costa Rica. The pictures with this post are of one of the branches of the coffee tree that I got to pick while I was there...my shoulders are still a bit sore from all of the work on the farm that day! As well, the other picture is from the nursery where the seedlings are nurtured for eight months until they are ready to plant on the coffee farm where they will live the rest of their lives. As with the Olympics, the final result is the end product of years of preparation! The quality of the coffee and taste that ends up in the cup is very reliant on all of the practices on the farm...once the cherry is picked, we can only maintain (or take away from) the quality of coffee that we brew. Hundreds of hands and hearts touch this coffee before we drink it, similar to the thousands of hands behind the Olympics!! More to come.....PS - GO CANADA!

Cindy GH

Orlando teaching us about the care and attention needed to raise a healthy strong tree

The Nursery at Doka

Part of the beautiful Doka farm

Closing Dinner - A few thoughts

Quick notes as we close out our trip.....

"We are not in the coffee business serving people, we are in the people business serving coffee" - this business is all about the people and the connections we have with each other, and how we inspire and nuture the human spirit. There is a great deal of power in a group of engaged, passionate people - we can all make a difference: one cup, one partner and one customer at a time. We look forward to sharing all of the stories and experiences with you on our return.

To all of the partners following - thank you for all that you do, to our customers - thank you for your patronage.

Please continue to check in on the blog as we will continue to upload pictures, stories, and even some videos in the days and weeks to come.

Adios, Cindy GH

Day Three in Costa Rica

Today we visited the coffee farm of Rodrigo Vargas (Doka Estate) - the largest coffee farmer in all of Costa Rica and one of the most technically advanced farmers in the world. He has worked a great deal with the Agronomy center here in Costa Rica to provide land for experimentation and study to continue to find ways to help the farmers increase their yields in a sustainable and environmentally friendly manner. Carlos Mario and Orlando, two of the agronomists from the Farmer Support Center, took us again through the entire life cycle of the coffee tree throughout the day.

The Doka coffee estate not only grows and processes their own coffee, they are well known for opening up their operations to tourists to educate people visiting Costa Rica on the coffee industry. Most tourists who visit Costa Rica and request a coffee estate tour are taken to Doka Estate, as it has the oldest wet mill in the entire country and is only a short distance from San Jose. Cindy, the guide who walked us through the processing mill let us know that when the tourists come from the cruise ships and tours of Costa Rica, they always speak very highly of Starbucks, and ask many questions about our relationship with the estate! She even let us know that one day she would love to work for us, at which point many in the group rumaged through their bag for a business card!

We visited the nursery where the coffee plants are germinated (1 - 1 1/2 month process) and then raised as seedlings (another 8 months) before being transported to the actual coffee farms. As most trees only produce coffee cherries for about 20 years, every year farmers replant 5% of their farm with seedlings that they need to care for for 3-4 years before they will produce their first, small crop. In this manner the farmer can maintain his crop yield (and income) at a relatively even level, while ensuring that every 20 years he has replanted his entire farm. We were given the opportunity to plant seedlings on the estate today, and I am looking forward to returning in a few years to see how the seedlings Marie and I planted are doing!

We were also given saws (the machetes were a bit too dangerous for a group of our size) and went through another lesson on how to prune coffee trees. After coffee trees have been producing cherries for about 8 - 10 years, their production begins to slow down. At his point, the trees are pruned back (at about the 120 cm mark) to encourage new shoots to grow to increase the productivity of the plant again and extend the life cycle to the 20 - 25 years mentioned previously. Marie and I pruned about 6 trees in our 20 minute activity and then learned that the average pruner will usually prune 500 plants in a six hour day!

As well, the Canadians all took a turn working the coffee drying patio, where the green coffee beans are turned every 15 minutes for 5 days to ensure that they dry evenly before being bagged for "reposa" (resting period).

My take away from today was that the quality of the coffee we drink all happens on the farm. Everything that occurs after that can either maintain or take away from the quality of the cup - but there is no process that can restore the quality if care and passion are not put into the plant from the minute it germinates. It is the responsibility of all the hands who touch the coffee cherries to maintain that quality - the picker hand selecting cherries of the perfect ripeness, plant management and pruning, proper processing, resting and packaging, transporting to our roasting plants and being delivered to our stores. Hundreds of hands take unbelieveable care in protecting the quality of our coffee through each step, and we have a responsibility to ensure that during the "last 10 feet" at our stores, we do everything possible to honour all of the work that has gone into getting the coffee to us, and as partners, we need to hold ourselves accountable to ensuring that every cup of brewed coffee, every hand crafted espresso beverage is perfect for our customers. Honour the standards and enjoy the coffee.

Adios,

Cindy GH

Reflections on Day Two

We are just about to board the bus to visit the estate of Doka, where we will be planting new seedlings as one of our activities for today.

Yesterday we spent time that was entirely different from visiting the estate of Bella Vista on Tuesday. We visited two cooperatives two hours (on a long and very steep, winding road) away from San Jose. The first farm was owned by a family who have been working in coffee for three generations and are one of the host farms for the work we are doing with the Earthwatch Institute. They were so proud to have visitors and show us the work they do on their 2 hectare farm. They are part of the cooperative of Terrazu, which is a collection of 2500 farms in the area.

Before lunch, we visited a local high school, where even though it is summer vacation in Costa Rica, the principal and three of her students met with us so that they could share the benefits their school receives from the cooperative through their partnership with Starbucks. Many in the room were emotional (including me, surprise) when hearing the gratitude in her voice and to see how proud the students were of their school, and they let us know that without coffee, the school (and the town) would have nothing.

We had lunch at the co-op mill in Terrazu and watched a presentation from Earthwatch before getting back on the bus to head to Coope Dota, another cooperative in the central valley serving 850 farmers and their families. Again, the manager expressed that 90% of the town's economy was dependant on coffee, and their relationship with Starbucks has dramatically changed the standard of living for not only the farmers and their families, but the entire town. He also shared with us all of the "green" practices his mill is experimenting with, and they have the amazing goal of becoming the first carbon neutral processing mill in the world! When we asked what we could do, he simply said "we need to work harder and manage our costs to protect the industry".

Today, prepare a french press and share it with the customers in the cafe, the partner standing beside you, your family at home, or the person who works next to you at the office. Instead of the usual connection you have over the press, connect about the press. I challenge your to find out someting new about the actual coffee and its origin, and to really slow it down to go through the four tasting steps. The coffee deserves nothing less.

Adios, Cindy GH

The entire Coffee Origins Experience Group at Bella Vista

Coffee rests for a couple months before being shipped

Beans drying on the patios

Depulping cont

Depulping

The first sort

Coffee being received at the Mill

Coffee pickers use this 20 litre bin (1 "Fanega") to measure their supply - a volume is measured instead of wieght because the density can vary

Ward and I (Nicole) proud of the berries we picked!

trying to take notes as fast as possible while the farmers share with us their wealth of knowledge

red ripe cherries

green coffee - still ripening on the branch

Tarrazu

Today we're on our way to Coope Tarrazu. It is a 2 hour drive away and the road is notoriously windy and washed out. We have been told to have a light breakfast and our guides are handing out gravel (anti nausea medication) ~Nicole

Sorry...movie didn't work but will figure it out

Day One at Bella Vista - Amazing!

What an amazing day one. I hope that you have all had the chance to follow Ward's tweets from throughout our day. We had the opportunity today to experience some of the workings of the Bella Vista farm and mill as well as participate first hand in some of the activities - including a "coffee picking competetion" to see how efficient we could pick perfect ripe red cherries without picking green cherries and without damaging the new buds that are the beginning of next year's harvest. In the time it took an experienced picker to fill his basket, many of us picked only 1/20th of a basket!

One of the highlights of today (and there were many), was listening to Orlando Mora, one of the highest regarded argronomists in the field, discuss the relationship between the farmer and his coffee trees. He spoke about how the farmer needed to know "her" (the tree), so that his management practices could complement the perfect combination of soil, climate, altitude, planting and pruning practices. He spoke passionately about ensuring that the farmer works in concert with nature to encourage the coffee tree to produce a perfect crop. He consistently spoke of the coffee tree as a vital, living organism that the farmer works his whole life to know, so that he can read her symptoms and understand her needs to enhance production. He spoke of planting other trees with coffee to provide much needed shade and nitogen to the soil to nourish the root system that regulates the health of the tree. He talked about the mother tree and her "children" - the seedlings that would be produced with strong genetic material to grow and thrive without chemical or unnatural interference. I hope that I can display even one percent of the passion he shared with us when I can tell you all the stories in person.

We are getting ready to head out for dinner. There is so much more knowledge to share from just our first day, and in future posts we will do our best to pass on what we have learned about the coffee farms, plant management, the plant life cycle, harvesting and processing our coffee, as well as our dedication to CAFE practices and ethically sourcing the absolute best coffee in the world.

The one take away for you this evening, is to know that the relationships and partnerships we have built here in Costa Rica (and I am sure all across origin) are with the best people who are enthusiastically dedicated to providing the absolute finest quality while ensuring we have a positive social, economic, and environmental impact in the areas from which we purchase our coffee...what we accomplish is unrivaled, and our competitors do not even come close to achieving what we are at origin. Everyone we met expressed their gratitude working with Starbucks, and we need to be grateful for all of the hard work they are putting into our coffee.

I am in process of learning how to get my pictures on to the laptop with an adapter here at the Communications Centre at our hotel, so pictures will be on their way!

Adios, Cindy Gange-Harris

Here is how you pick coffee

Check out this unbelievable video of the best coffee picker ever. We could probably pick one twentieth of that amount.

Team Canada Photo

Lots more stuff to come today but this is team Canada at Bella Vista Beneficio.

Check out the view at breakfast. We could get used to this. We are off to a coffee tasting and education session before we board the bus to Tres Rios, Bella Vista. Our Bella Vista coffee was served last night at dinner and it is just as delicious as I remembered. Marie

On the ground

We've landed and arrived at hacienda marriott in san jose. The resort is just as breathtaking as expected. Immediately upon arrival we went searching for coffee trees since the resort is on a 30 acre estate. Didn't take long for us to stumble accross these trees in bloom. Just took this picture with my camera. Seeing these blooms up close is even more amazing than expected. The coffee trees are protected by huge apricot and lime trees through out. And this is just the hotel! Tomorrow we are going up into the mountains to visit Tres Rios Bella Vista estate farm. The coffee is ready for harvest and we will experience a day in the life. Till tomorrow, Marie

Fun, Goofy, & Weird Stuff about Costa Rica

In absolutely no particular order....
In Costa Rica, it is not uncommon to give coffee to babies (in their bottle, with milk) and to young children. I found this astonishing! Having had the "pleasure" of a two year old a few times in my life, I simply could not imagine a two year old on espresso!

Naming conventions are very different here. Children take their father's name, but add their mother's maiden name to their full name. So when you see a name on a business card like Carlos Jose Gomez Guzman, this persons name is Carlos Gomez and the Guzman is his mom's maiden name. Often this is abbreviated as an initial thus: Carlos Jose Gomez G. or even more commonly, Carlos Gomez G.

Costa Rican women do not take their husband's last name. The woman uses her full maiden name for life. No changing of national ID cards, drivers licenses, etc. She also adds her mother's maiden name.

If you should die while here, you are buried here on the same day you die... no embalming... nada. They just plant you! Everyone looks to see your obituary on TV several times per day!

There are few street signs in Costa Rica and even fewer addresses. Read that as almost none. Just about all addresses are in terms of a well-known building or landmark; often the local Catholic Church, cemetery, or another fixed location. But just to keep things interesting, some addresses are phrased in terms of building that may have burned down 20 years ago! Also, when you see an address that says 200M west of something, that normally means 2 blocks and NOT a true 200 meters.

All (honey) bees in Costa Rica are of the Africanized variety i.e. killer bees. The older species were bred out years ago.

Front doors of almost all commercial establishments almost always open INWARDS. This is against every fire code in the USA, but here, perhaps because they have never had a tragedy in which hundreds died because the door could not be opened outwards, there is no such code.

There are Bullfights in Costa Rica, but the bull is never hurt and often, the bull wins!

You will see a LOT of folks carrying machetes... those really long, sharp knives. You see this especially in the country and areas away from San José. The machete is the Costa Rican equivalent of Duct Tape. It is used for everything, but almost never as a weapon.

In many countries, pedestrians have rights. Drivers must yield to them or suffer the consequences. In Costa Rica, the Spanish word for pedestrian is "Target". Be real careful when walking around... especially in San José and especially at street corners.

At 7 AM every morning, most if not all Costa Rica radio stations broadcast the exact same program. It begins with the Costa Rican National Anthem and provides the government and other authorized entities a way to send messages or information nation wide.

Volcanos

Part of the Pacific Ring Fire Circle, Costa Rica has over 200 identifiable volcanic formations dating back over 65 million years. Today, however, only 100 or so show any signs of volcanic activity, while just five are classified as active volcanoes. Most of the volcanoes in Costa Rica lie in the northern part of the country and in the Central Highlands.

Considered to be among Costa Rica’s top tourist attractions as they captivate the attention of both tourists and scientists from all over the world, these volcanoes are a key part of this country’s spectacular natural diversity. This is because they have played an important role in how the lush landscape of this region has come into being. Due to the many eruptions over the past millennia, the soil in Costa Rica is rich in many minerals and is very fertile. This fertility in turn has contributed to dense verdant forestation, which supports not only a myriad of bird & wildlife species, but is also home to numerous tropical and exotic plants and trees as well

Where we are staying

Our hotel is an antique-filled, hacienda-style and stands on a 30-acre coffee plantation with magnificent views from each of our rooms.

Education

The briefest sojourn in San José makes clear that Costa Ricans are a highly literate people. The country boasts of 93 percent literacy in those 10 and over, the most literate populace in Central America. Many of the country's early political figures, including the first president, José Maria Castro, were former teachers and shared a great concern for education. As early as 1828, a law made school attendance mandatory. In 1869, the country became one of the first in the world to make education obligatory and free, funded by the state's share of the great coffee wealth. Then, only one in 10 Costa Ricans could read and write. By 1920, 50 percent of the population was literate. By 1973, when the Ministry of Education published a landmark study, the figure was 89 percent.

The study also revealed some worrying factors. Over half of all Costa Ricans aged 15 or over, roughly 600,000 teenagers, had dropped out of school by the sixth grade. Almost 1,000 schools had only one teacher, often a partially trained aspirante (candidate teacher) lacking certification. And the literacy figures included many "functional illiterates" counted by their simple ability to sign their own name. The myth of "more teachers than soldiers" and the boast of the highest literacy rate in Central America had blinded Costa Ricans to their system's many defects.

The last 20 years have seen a significant boost to educational standards. Since the 1970s the country has invested more than 28 percent of the national budget on primary and secondary education. A nuclearization program has worked to amalgamate one-teacher schools. And schooling through the ninth year (age 14) is now compulsory. Nonetheless, there remains a severe shortage of teachers with a sound knowledge of the full panoply of academic subjects, discredited rote-learning methods are still common, remote rural schools are often difficult to reach in the best of weather, and the Ministry of Education is rife with political appointees who change hats with each administration. As elsewhere in the world, well-to-do families usually send their children to private schools.

Village libraries are about the only means for adults in rural areas to continue education beyond sixth grade. The country, with approximately 100 libraries, has a desperate need for books and for funds to support the hundreds of additional libraries which the country needs.

Culture

Costa Rica is best known for its natural beauty and friendly people who prize the environment and peace. With its political stability, extraordinary biodiversity, natural attractions and reputation for conservation, Costa Rica is a magnet for nature lovers from all over the world. The diverse topography allows for a large number of outdoor activities. Governmental programs have safeguarded the country's image as an ecotourism destination and have promoted Costa Rica as one of the best places to experience the tropics, while protecting the environment from negative impacts of tourism. Approximately 27 percent of the land is designated to National Parks, forest reserves, and reservations for indigenous people, allowing Costa Rica to develop a very large national park system. An influx of Costa Ricans visit these national parks on weekends and major holidays such as Easter Week, Independence Day, and the week between Christmas and New Year's Day. These parks, some of which are noted worldwide for their vegetation and wildlife, also attract international tourists.

Politics

Costa Rica is a democratic republic with a strong constitution. It is seen as one of the most stable countries in Latin America. Costa Rica has avoided the violence that has plagued Central America; it is seen as an example of political stability in the region, and is referred to as the "Switzerland of the Americas". Executive responsibilities are vested in a president, who is the country's center of power. There also are two vice presidents and a cabinet designated by the president. The president, vice presidents, and 57 Legislative Assembly deputies are elected for 4-year terms. A constitutional amendment approved in 1969 limited presidents and deputies to one term, although a deputy may run again for an Assembly seat after sitting out a term. An amendment to the constitution to allow second presidential terms was proposed and also the constitutionality of the prohibition against a second presidential term has been challenged in the courts. In April 2003 the prohibition was officially recognized, in a highly polemic resolution, as anti-constitutional allowing Óscar Arias (Nobel Peace Prize, 1987) to run for President a second time in the 2006 elections and winning them on very tight elections. Arias is a promoter of free trade and supports the free trade agreement with the United States. Costa Rica uses a form of proportional representation to elect its national legislative body.

Governors appointed by the president head the country's seven provinces, but they exercise little power. There are no provincial legislatures. Autonomous state agencies enjoy considerable operational independence; they include the telecommunications and electrical power monopoly, the nationalized commercial banks, the state insurance monopoly, and the social security agency. Costa Rica has no military by constitution but maintains domestic Police and armed National Guard forces for internal security.

Economy

Historically, Costa Rica's economy has been based on agriculture, including the production of coffee, bananas, pineapples and ornamental house plants, but in recent times ecotourism, electronics, pharmaceuticals, financial outsourcing and software development have become the prime industries. Costa Rica's location in the Central American isthmus provides easy access to American markets as it has the same time zone as the central part of the United States and direct ocean access to Europe and Asia.

The economy has been expanding in part because the Government implemented a seven year plan of expansion in the high tech industry. The central government offers tax exemptions for those who are willing to invest in the country. High levels of education among its residents make the country an attractive location for investors. Several global high tech corporations have already started developing in the area exporting goods, including chip manufacturer Intel and pharmaceutical companies such as Procter & Gamble and Glaxo Smith Kline. Trade with Southeast Asia and Russia boomed during 2004 and 2005, and the country is expected to obtain full Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC) membership by 2007 (the country became an observer in 2004).

For the 2007 fiscal year, Costa Rica showed it's first budget surplus in 50 years, however economic growth has slowed in the past two years as the global downturn reduced export demand and investment inflows. In 2008, economic growth was at 2.6 %, however inflation was at 13.4%

The unit of currency is the colón (CRC), which trades around 530 to the U.S. dollar.

Demographics

In 2009, Costa Rica had an estimated population of 4,253,877. The majority of people in Costa Rica descend from Spanish settlers. In contrast to its neighboring countries, little mixing of the Spanish settlers and the indigenous populations occurred. Therefore, a vast majority of Costa Ricans are either of Spanish or Meztizo heritage. In addition, there are significant numbers of Costa Ricans of Italian, German, Jewish, and Polish descent. Together, European and Meztizos descendants make up 94 percent of the population. About three percent of the population is of African descent, also known as Afro-Latin Americans. Another group are English-speaking descendants of 19th-century Jamaican immigrant workers. Another one percent is composed of ethnic Chinese.

Today, the indigenous population numbers less than one percent, or around 29,000 individuals. In Guanacaste Province, a significant portion of the population descends from a mix of local Amerindians, Africans and Spaniards. There is also a small expatriate community of American and Canadian retirees

Geography

Costa Rica is bordered to the north by Nicaragua and to the southeast by Panama. It has both Caribbean and Pacific coasts. A series of volcanic mountain chains runs from the Nicaraguan border to the Panamanian border, splitting the country in two. In the center of these ranges is a high-altitude plain, with coastal lowlands on either side. Over half of the population lives on this plain, utilizing its fertile volcanic soils. The Caribbean Coast is 131 miles long and is characterized by mangroves, swamps and sandy beaches. The Pacific Coast is much more rugged and rocky and, thanks to a number of gulfs and peninsulas, is 630 miles long.

Weather Overview
Costa Rica is a tropical country with only two seasons. The dry season occurs between late December and April, and the wet season lasts the rest of the year. The Caribbean coast, however, tends to be wet all year. Temperatures vary little between seasons, and the main influence on temperature is altitude. San José, at 3772 feet, has a climate that the locals refer to as 'Eternal Spring' with lows averaging 60°F and highs averaging 79°F. The coasts are much hotter, with the Caribbean averaging 70°F at night and over 86°F during the day; the Pacific is a few degrees warmer still. The humidity at low altitudes can be oppressive.

5 days to go

Hard to believe it's five days to Costa Rica. Especially looking forward to visiting the Bella Vista coffee farm.