The Cafe Finca & More

Don is checking out the coffee berries that are needing to be picked.

We have discovered that we have at least two different kinds of coffee. Red and Yellow and we understand the Red is the most desirable.  Starbucks is big in Costa Rica and "doing a lot for the coffee industry".  It's always a question about motives when a large corporation is interested in the little guy!

 The coffee is actually beautiful and when you bite into a red berry it is very sweet and juicy.  Go figure!  At the present, our coffee worker is pulling vines off the coffee that have been allowed to grow, and cutting back the tall weeds which needed to be removed.  Now that Roberto has cut the weeds down, we need to burn them and apply something like Roundup only less toxic. This will  kill the weeds so we can replant.  Because of the erosion here and the hilly nature of our property, we need to plant a special plant that doesn't grow very high but has very deep roots.  To us the work that needs to be done is insurmountable.  However, Roberto, our Coffee Worker, plugs away 6 days a week and is slowly making progress.  Today Don is down at the Finca helping which is why I have time to blog.  For some time, our computer has been used, almost non stop, to find a vehicle.  Unsuccessfully so far!  The task here is complicated by language, no transportation, long distances, and things specific to Costa Rica.  For instance, any tickets against the vehicle become yours once you purchase the car and other oddities.  Again, we are visiting our attorney for all the specifics and how to avoid major problems.   Upon transfer of title, an attorney is required and the fee is about $300 depending on the price of the vehicle.

This year our Coffee crop belongs to Danillo. He is the one who did all the fertilizing, pruning and taking care of the Coffee during the previous growing season.  Next year the crop will be ours!  Unfortunately, this year we are having to invest quite a bit in labor, supplies and, of course, the fertilizers and pesticides that are required.  So far we have purchased 2 Machetes, 1 Bamba (Sprayer), 2 Pelles (Shovels) and miscellaneous other items which still sit in our house.  Not having a vehicle is a real hindrance to being a Coffee Farmer!

Sunday was my birthday and this is a photo of a very large chocolate covered marshmallow sucker that Elian, our little neighbor and landlord, brought me for my birthday!  I was overwhelmed by all the birthday wishes on line and locally.  Thank you everyone!
The day ended up being very special!  Friends, Meli & Jim, who we met 6 years ago when we purchased our property arrived to help us talk with our Coffee Worker.  Meli is Tica and, of course, speaks Spanish very well.  Jim is from the US and the combination works very well for us and Roberto!  As they were translating for us, we invited them for dinner and they arrived with wine, a knife (to be explained below) and Jim's guitar.  We ate, sang, danced and told stories and fun was had by all!
Now an explaination of the "Knife" gift!  The day before my birthday, Marcella and Roselina, her mother, were at the house to learn how to make yeast bread. I had made a loaf and shared it. They loved it and asked if I would teach them how to make some.  We were also having a little knitting lesson while the bread was rising and, of course, working on communicating!  Jim and Meli arrived and joined in the fun and added more excitement and a little Spanish lesson along with bread making and knitting.   Once the bread was completed, we needed to test the results and my knife just would not cooperate!!  And that is the story of why Jim and Meli gave me a wonderful knife that cuts bread perfectly for my birthday.   Thank you again Jim & Meli!!