DRYING: MECHANICALLY DRIED
The name of this coffee honours the first president of the CoopeAgri El General R.L. Don Claudio sought to increase producers’ participation in the value chain and free coffee trading from the exclusive domination of private enterprise. The creation of CoopeAgri in November 1962 has led to an unusually resilient and unique presence in the surrounding community and has established CoopeAgri as a force for growth in southern Costa Rica. In tandem with Fairtrade-funded projects, CoopeAgri has expanded from a small coffee processing operation to its own cupping laboratory, as well as a range of activities, including producing and marketing organic manure on a commercial scale. The co-op also manages programs to improve the environment, from reforestation to educational initiatives as part of its long-term strategy for sustainable development. CoopeAgri is so embedded in the daily life of its community, its reach extends not only to its own café, but to six supermarkets, a convenience store, two agricultural supply stores, a fuel station, a hardware store and a medical clinic. The largest cooperative in Costa Rica, CoopeAgri represents more than 8,000 members and employs over 700 permanent and temporary workers.
In this process, the handpicked cherry is delivered to drop-off points for collection (saving smallholder farmers considerable time and expense) and taken to a nearby eco-friendly mill, where processing methods have been carefully designed to protect the environment. To reduce water use and the amount of excess nutrients in water runoff from the mill, centrifugal force is used to remove mucilage instead of fermentation. Parchment is washed and mechanically dried. Beans for this coffee are grown by producers farming an average of 1.3 ha. in the Chirripó Mountain area, the highest in Central America.
