El Toleda Coffee Tour.

Phone was playing up yesterday so missed a days blog. It was a chilled out New Years Day. The major event of the morning was Fred discovering a scorpion at the bottom of the swimming pool! After about an hour it was scooped out and a baby too. Both very dead! 

We had a lovely evening with our hosts Phil and Mary Belle, with good conversation and tasty food.

An early swim in the scorpion free pool.

After lunch we took two buses to El Toledo for a coffee tour which we had heard great things about. It did not disappoint. Gabriel was our guide and he grew up on the farm.

The roasting machine. Coffee is a fruit and the seeds are the beans. The lighter the roast the more fruity the taste. 

Light to dark roast beans. The lighter roast beans contain more oil, caffeine and acidity. 

The taste test. Which is light, medium and dark? 

The boys were not that keen on the coffee. I enjoyed the light roast and Mark liked the dark.

Only 20% of the berry is used- the seed. The fruit which has more anti oxidants than blueberries is discarded. On Gabriel's farm they use the fruit for compost and are starting to use it for making wine and are making jams from the honey, or juice that occurs in the process.

Green beans drying in the sun.

The beautiful farm. Coffee is grown here amongst many other plants (permaculture farming) that enrich the soil. Growing the coffee naturally amongst a variety of trees and plants means there is no need to use pesticides.

Walking through the farm

Gabriel was very passionate about his farm. It was so interesting to hear his views on organic farming and how it's not always best for the consumer and the farmer. He talked alot about the importance of supporting neighbours and buying local products. They used to sell their products to large cooperatives who would then do the roasting but now they do everything themselves.

Coffee berries.

Sugar cane.

Coffee is the second biggest commodity in the world after oil and there are 70,000 farmers growing coffee in Costa Rica. Coffee is not a necessity, it was interesting to hear Gabriel talk about how we should grow things we actually need in order to sustain the next generations. 

A really thought provoking afternoon. With a little added adventure of getting on the wrong bus and then having a fairly long walk home in the dark. Looking at the moon and stars which are all on the wonk!