Take a virtual field trip to Costa Rica to discover what argonomists and farmers are doing to address the ongoing challenges of climate change, disease and diminishing natural resources on coffee farming. They want to ensure your daily coffee cup stays full well.
They want to ensure your coffee cup stays full well into the future.
More than a beverage
Most coffee drinkers will tell you that coffee, especially in uncertain times, is more than a beverage. A cup of coffee can represent comfort, stability, a respite – a taste of normality, especially in a world that currently feels anything but. It represents much the same to the people who grow coffee.
“I have coffee for breakfast, at noon, at 2 p.m., and at night I have another cup. It’s like one of my daily meals,” said Ana Mendez, laughing. She and her husband farm coffee on several small plots in Costa Rica.
She said she often thinks of the people around the world drinking the coffee they grow. “I would want to tell them behind every cup of coffee there is sacrifice, there is work, there is hope, and there is love,” Mendez said. “There is so much love.”
In 2013, Starbucks® purchased a coffee farm in Costa Rica called Hacienda Alsacia to better understand these challenges, and to look for solutions. Since then, the farm has become a global hub of research and discovery. The team working there hopes that their efforts will help coffee farmers in addressing the ongoing challenges they face
Open-source agronomy. Starbucks® Farmer Support Centers at Hacienda Alsacia in Costa Rica and in eight other coffee‑growing countries connect agronomists, researchers and farmers to share research, technical information and agronomic tools. These centers support farmers in adopting practices aimed at improving the environmental and economic performance of coffee production within their local contexts.
