Orocafe Products - Coffee

Organically grown, shade tree protected, strictly hard bean (SHB), Arabica coffee is the primary product that will be produced from Finca de Cynthia. Each adjective used to describe this coffee product has a very specific meaning in the coffee industry: 

Arabica Coffee:

There are two major types of coffee sold into the world commercial market: (1) arabica and (2) robusta . Robusta accounts for only 25% of the world market due largely to the fact it contains almost 2x the amount of caffeine as Arabica coffee. Robusta is grown at the lower elevations and because it comes from higher yield plants results in a lower production costs. The lower production costs make the Robusta coffee a favorite for blending purposes by the large “institutional” coffee roasters.

 Arabica coffee accounts for the remaining 75% of the world market. Arabica coffee is grown at the higher elevations, has a lower caffeine content, and is used as the source of all “specialty” coffees sold in the world. “Specialty” coffee is a term that means the raw material is of the highest quality and a greater level of attention is paid to the processing and roasting process. Although only 10% of the world supply of Arabica coffee is used in the “specialty” coffee market, 100% of Costa Rican coffee meets the strict quality requirements required by the “specialty” coffee market. In addition, Costa Rican Arabica coffee is used by the large “institutional” coffee roasters to blend with Robusta and other lower quality Arabica coffee (that is produced elsewhere) to enhance the flavor and quality of their commercial brands.

 The environment required for growing fine “specialty” coffee is found only in select mountainous regions in the tropics – which includes Costa Rica – and requires an annual rainfall of about 80 inches, with distinct wet and dry seasons. The soil must be extremely fertile and is often volcanic. The Orosi Valley area of Costa Rica meets this requirement.

 The major differences between Arabica coffee produced in Costa Rica and the Arabica coffee produced by the larger world producers (e.g. Brazil) has to do with the production method used. The coffee in Costa Rica is 100% hand picked to ensure that only the fully ripe beans (called “cherries” because of their bright red color) are harvested. Because of this at least three separate pickings are required for each plant during the harvest season (the picking session is from late November thru early January). In sharp contrast, in Brazil for example, they use an automated picking process that makes one pass on each plant and it picks all the beans on the plant (those that are not ripe - still “green”, only partially ripe – “orange”, and fully ripe – bright “red”). So, while the production method is very cheap, the resultant blend of Arabia coffee is of a lower quality.

Strictly Hard Bean (“SHB”)

Arabica coffee is graded by the elevation at which it is grown. Arabica coffee grown at an elevation of 4,000 to 6,000 feet is referred to as “strictly hard bean” because the growing process is longer and slower – all of which enhance the density of the bean which in-turn results in a higher quality and more intense flavor of the coffee. Because they are harder and more dense, SHB Arabica beans can be roasted darker and still retain their integrity. 

Costa Rican Arabica coffee grown at lower elevations is still good coffee but in coffee grading terms it is referred to as “ordinary”. 

Shade Tree Protected 

At the higher elevations the intensity of the sun could damage an unprotected coffee plant; so, shade trees (which can include banana plants) are inter-dispersed among the coffee plants to provide this protection. In addition, the leaves of the trees provide much needed compost for the plants. The shade trees are usually pruned several times during the course of each year to ensure just enough sun light is received.

 An alternative to providing shade tree protection is to use a special type of coffee plant that is more resistant to the sun. However, the coffee beans from these plants tend to ripen quickly in the full sun which reduces the overall quality of the coffee.

  Organically Grown

Traditional growing methods use chemical fertilization, pesticides, and fungicides to control pests, disease, and make up the nutrients depleted from the soil. While these methods have allowed for increased coffee production with less loss of plants through disease, the chemicals eventually take a toll on the quality of the coffee, sustainability of the soil, underground artesian springs, and environment - not to mention the often overlooked long term impact on the workers who end up ingesting these chemicals.