Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Try the interactive diagrams...


http://www.oxfam.org/en/campaigns/trade/rigged_rules

Cafe Forestal


The Café Forestal Foundation is a not governmental, Non profit organization, dedicated to the financial support of projects of environmental and socioeconomic development. It has its origin in the Project Café Forestal of the Consortium of Cooperative Coffee growers of Guanacaste and Montes de Oro. (COOCAFE R. L.).

The income of the Café Forestal Foundation comes from a contribution or ecological quota that the consumers of Café Forestal make with their purchase. This contribution is equivalent to USD $ 1.00 for every kilogram of coffee and It’s destined to finance projects of sustainable development in Costa Rica.


To make real the dream of the Café Forestal Foundation, diverse people, organizations and companies contribute with their work from the moment the coffee is cultivated and commercialized, until the money destined for projects of conservation and sustainable production are made.


Café Forestal is more than a coffee brand that can be acquired in the market; it is a concept that generates important social, environmental and economical benefits for our country. It’s a mean to protect our nature and a way to democratize the economy. Cafe Forestal The Partnership of Coffee Cooperatives of Guanacaste and Montes de Oro (COOCAFE R.L.) is an integration organism that works like cooperative of second degree, tries integral solutions to general problems and the creation of development options.

COOCAFE is formed by 9 coffee cooperatives that group as well to more than 5,000 associate. It was founded January 23th of 1988 with the support of the agro economical Consultancy.


To learn more, visit: http://coocafe.com/cafeforestal/en/the-foundation.html

Monday, March 9, 2009

Three Questions about our Blog

1) When was coffee introduced to Costa Rica, and which was the first latin american country to introduce the coffee industry?

2)What gourmet coffee company dominates in Costa Rica?

3) What religion banned coffee because of its spiritual and physical unhealthiness?

hey there dude

Friday, March 6, 2009



coffee first arrived in Costa Rica in the late 1700s and it became the first latin american country to develop a coffee industry.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

here's some more information about costa rica:
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2019.htm

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Our Costa Rica Coffee Survey

Seven sophomores have so far answered our survey. Here is what they said about coffee:

When asked if they knew of fair trade was
42.9% said they did
42.9% said they didn't
14.3% said that they might.

The definitions were
1. It is when countries trade the different types of coffee that they grow fairly
2. Fair trade means the amount of money the families growing the crop receive is a fair wage that is enough for them to support themselves with.
3. Fair trade assures us (consumers) that the coffee we drink was purchased under fair conditions. That we should pay $1.26 per pound in order for the farmers and workers to receive money.

The last answer is probably the best!

57.1% of our survey takers do not even drink coffee.
28.6% drink around one cup of coffee a day
14.3% drink two a day

Everyone said that they started drinking coffee between the ages of 10 and 14


42.9% never buy coffee as opposed to making it at home.


When asked if they would pay over four dollars for a 12 oz. cup of coffee, people responded pretty evenly between 'no' and 'maybe'. One person did say yes, though.


Most people (66.7%) said that their favorite thing to put in coffee is sugar.

2 people thought that where their coffee came from was important, 2 people thought it wasn't, and 2 people thought that is was 'sort of' important.

66.7% of people buy their coffee at local coffee shops, the rest bought it at places like dunkin' donuts, or other.


We'l l keep checking and hopefully more will respond!