Cafe Britt History!

Looking back on this trip I have realized how much market share Cafe Britt has inside Costa Rica. It doesn't matter where we go, it could be a small gift shop in the middle of no where or a high end gift shop, they all sell Cafe Britt coffee. For that reason, I have decided to dig deeper into the history of this company.

Well, during the 1980's the people of Costa Rica could not find a good cup of coffee even though these huge plantations were just around the corner. It comes to find out, all of the good coffee was being exported all around the world. It was at this moment Cafe Britt had and idea, a target market and went for it. In 1985, Cafe Britt became the first gourmet coffee roaster in Costa Rica.

Ever since that moment, the company has exploded. In 1995, Cafe Britt came out with their online store. This allowed its customers the easy access to order their coffee from anywhere in the world. Also, it pushed for a larger market than just Costa Ricans. However, they didn't make the step to add additional locations for their stores until 2004, when they opened in Peru. Currently, you can find Cafe Britt Coffee Corporation all over the world. They have locations in: Costa Rica, Peru, Curacao, Chile, and the United States.

While visiting Cafe Britt myself, I noticed how hard everyone was working. When looking over their website I realized how many awards the company has won. Currently, Cafe Britt has won the "Overall Excellence Award for outstanding performance in leadership, customer service, processes, environmental, innovation & HHRR" in 2007 & 2006. Also, in 2004 they were awarded a spot in the top 100 most admired companies in Central America. It seems that they have done well for themselves.

So, what does Cafe Britt sell? Well, they not only sell coffee, but also a variety of merchandise. For example, I saw that they sold many different souvenirs like coffee mugs, candies, post cards, t-shirts, etc. while in their store. However, they are most known for their coffee. Their 8 most popular coffees are: Costa Rica Dark Roast, Costa Rica Light Roast, Costa Rica Decaffeinated, Costa Rica Espresso, Costa Rica Shade Grown Organic, Tarrazu Montecielo, Tres Rios Valdivia, & Poas Volcanic Earth. As I just stated, some of their coffee is organic. According to their website, they are dedicated to their organic coffee suppliers to enable that water, soil, and biodiversity is preserved. Also, they say that they pay their farmers above the average market for the coffee. Looking back on the entire trip, I must say that Cafe Britt isn't perfect, but that they are far ahead of Chiquita and other banana plantations on their sustainable practices.

Information from: http://www.cafebritt.com/

Last Night @ Pescadito!

Poas Volcano & La Paz Waterfall Gardens!!!

Today Thursday, June 12, 2008 we had our last trip, which was to Poas Volcano & La Pez Waterfall. As you can see above these are pictures of Poas Volcano, which is actually a crater that measures a mile in diameter and 900 feet deep. Most of the time you can't actually see the crater due to the clouds, however we were lucky today because the blew away as we reached the top. You can see how beautiful it was from the pictures. It is considered to be one of the most active craters in the world, which would explain why there were so many tourists there today. Also, the location of the crater compared to San Jose also creates some popularity points for this tourist, "hot spot". Again, we have not been let down with the amazing eco-tourism locations.

Information from: http://www.infocostarica.com/places/poas.html

After our visit to the volcano, we visited La Paz Waterfall Gardens, which was only a short drive away. La Paz Waterfall Gardens is a multi-million dollar nature park composed of: exotic birds, butterflies, hummingbirds, frogs, snakes, and of course waterfalls! However, the pictures above

are some of the exotic birds that I saw today. Most of the birds above are toucans. As you can see, they are all very beautiful and some were playful. The last picture actually shows one bitting my arm, however it didn't hurt. Also, Peter (a member of our group) actually got attacked by a few of the birds. The birds were one of the more exciting parts of the day.

As you can see above, we saw the butterflies next. They were also very playful and would lay on anyone that would let them. For example, a young girl had close to 10 butterflies on her head and arms at once. Also, as shown above they would even walk up your leg. However, my favorite butterfly is called "the morpho" due to its beautiful wings. When they are closed they show a brown "eye", which allows it to hide from its predators. It most direct predator is actually humans due to deforestation. They are also hunted by the jacamar and flycatcher. However, the most amazing aspect of this butterfly is its wings when they are open, which is a bright blue. The vivid color of the blue morpho’s wings is a result of the microscopic scales on the backs of their wings, which reflect light, causing the butterfly to appear a brilliant iridescent blue. Also, they are one of the largest butterflies in the world, with a wingspan of up to 8 inches. They are a very common butterfly and I have seen numerous ones since I have been on the trip. Their lifespan is only about 115 days, so must of their time is spent eating and reproducing. The morpho butterfly is shown in the first picture above.

Information from: http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/resources/forest-facts/species-profiles/morpho_butterfly.html

After the butterflies, we were able to take a break and eat lunch. Today's lunch was one of the best ones we have had so far. Not only did they serve Costa Rican food, but also American food, which was amazing! After lunch, we continued with the tour and we able to see the frogs, hummingbirds, and snakes! Along the way, we also stopped at a colonial home to see how Costa Ricans lived years ago. As you can see above, I was able to take my picture with a few cows that were used as transportation.

Finally, we made it to the waterfalls. The waterfalls were the best part of the trip because they were all right after another. In total there are 5 waterfalls named: el templo, magia blanca, encantada, escondida, and la paz. However, my favorite was magia blanca (white magic) because if you stared at the waterfall long enough, then you could look to the right and the rocks would look like they were moving! As you can see, the establishment offers numerous spots to stop and take pictures. Overall, today was another wonderful experience of eco-tourism in Costa Rica. Not only do you have the chance to learn, but its also fun at the same time!

Las Palmas!

Our last big trip! Overall, this was the most relaxing of all the trips because we finally got some down time just to chill at the beach, which was awesome! The first few pictures above are of the hotel, called Las Palmas, which was a four star hotel. I loved it because it was the first hotel that actually gave us fresh towels! The next picture is of Bob, Steven, and me outside of our hotel room (or the ice box). The following picture is of Peter and I standing outside the hotel & the final picture is of our trusty bus driver, Ronald and me. Seriously, that man did things with a bus that I didn´t even know was possible.

Nate & I's Adventure!!!

Wow, where do I even begin with this? Well, as I said before a few of the students were on a short walk with one of the professors on the beach. Everything was fine, until Nate looked at me and said, "hey, you wanna go out there with me?" And, without hesitation, I said yes. Before the story, you must know that rock was probably 50 yards out in the ocean and was made of sharp coral. With this knowledge, we began our journey. Everything was fine, until the first big wave, which resulted in Nate losing not one, but two of his flip-flops. Even though he was faced with adversity, he continued on. We finally made it to the coral and then a huge wave came in and sweep me away. After a few seconds to regain my position I was able to meet Nate up on the coral. Finally, we made it! However, as we began to celebrate our achievement, the biggest wave I had ever seen covered the entire coral - including us! As you can see above, I really had to use an athletic stance, just to stand up. After a few minutes out there, we decided we had enough and made our way back to the coast. Looking back, it was one of the funniest parts of the trip, even though I had to endure a few bumps and bruises.

WOW!

These are just some pictures of the beautiful scenery that we saw while we were on our short walk and right before Nate and I's big adventure.

-The fourth picture is of Rob and me.

-The fifth picture is of Bob & me.