A Coope Tarrazu cupping

Ever since I became a Starbucks Coffee Master, I've wanted to experience a professional cupping.

So needless to say, I became very excited when I noticed the "coffee tasting activity at Coope Tarrazu" on the two week schedule that came out at the beginning of the trip.

When I worked for Starbucks, I learned how to find - and more importantly - describe coffee flavor profiles. They used to have us taste every single coffee in the store and note our thoughts in a "Coffee Passport." It was that activity that planted in me the desire to go straight to coffee's source in origin countries.

Countries like Ethiopia, Brazil, and Costa Rica.

The cupping activity reminded me of many wine tasting tours in the Yakima Valley: First, you aerate the coffee with a spoon, then smell it, swish it around, slurp (rather noisily), and spit it - with authority - into a spittoon. You then back away from the cups and ponder what you've just experienced.

We tasted several coffees from Coope Tarrazu, followed by three from Starbucks. My favorite was the Ethiopia Sidamo - it's citrusy notes beg for a lemon loaf chaser.

I made some photos of the event, and wish I could include the taste and smells that accompanied them.

Enjoy.

Gold chains and a little white ball

Another day has passed. Just three more until we return to our homes.

I'm pretty sure I can say we will all miss 5 a.m. wake up calls followed by drives on rough roads surrounded by lush landscape and the smell of diesel engines. At least I know I will.

Today's farmer, Ernesto Chacon, had been working the land for 35 years. He started as a cattle rancher, and now operates one of the finer fields here in Tarazzu.

His smile intrigued me.

As I was waiting for Sebas to use the GPS to find our first transect, I stumbled upon the cowboys... is there a name for the Costa Rican rancher?

They were young. So young, in fact, that chest hair had only recently filled in their half-buttoned shirts.

They laughed at the sight of me. I can only imagine what was going through their heads as I quickly made images of the scene and then moved in closer to capture the details.

I feel I can truly see things when the camera is pressed to my eye. That is when I most certainly find the confidence to interpret the world around me. To tell another's story.

On this trip I feel there are many stories upon which I could focus. Each farmer has one, each team member has one, and I have one. Yet how do I tell the story? That is the question on my mind as I make the images that freeze a moment in time.

The journey excites me.

Enjoy.

Color and Coope Tarazzu

Tonight I'm only posting photos of today's activities because I'm too tired to write.

We have to leave the hotel at 6 a.m. tomorrow to begin work in the fields. So that means an early wake up call, for sure.

Today was our "in class" day and my brain has officially hit information overload. We toured the coffee farmer's cooperative, also known as Coope Tarrazu, which was by far my favorite activity of the day.

The afternoon was spent at the research office where we learned more about local farming practices and the push toward sustainability.

Here are my favorite images from these activities. I was impressed by the color and contrasts found in this culture and hope you enjoy it as much as I am.

Inside the shop around the corner.The street in front of our hotel.Debra pointing out our enormous rear view mirror.Charlie, center, sips coffee while listening to to a lecture at Coope Tarrazu.Red and green coffee cherries.
Coffee beans after being washed.You never know where you'll see these.A mechanic at Coope Tarazzu (notice the poster in his shop.)Working man's hands.Coope Tarazzu.The life blood of the community is the river.Sebas talking about annual rainfall.Alex displays the necessary poncho.Jason sneaking under a fence.