Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Rich Abker on November 18, 2008 at 1:08pm

I feel the same way. I would love to spend a month or two planting and growing a coffee bush!

I once took a walk through the forest near Hannah in Maui, and came accross a few coffee trees that had a nice bunch of ripe cherries. I enjoyed experimenting with them, sluuuurrrrp.

Permalink Reply by Tim O´Brien on November 21, 2008 at 6:16am

Costa Rica is very nice and safe with lots of great coffee. There are many great award winning micro mills here on small farms that the owners still pick their own coffee and enjoy what they do, so you get a family feel. The big farms you will just get lost in the mass of migrant workers. I tell people to come and visit us and are welcome to come pick and process their own coffee. Many people come and want to spend a week harvesting. They last about 1 day and then head for the beach. Its really hard dirty work. Still they all leave very excited about the experience and with the determination to roast or pull a shot with just that much more care since they got to see what it takes to give them great beans. Just happy to see people wanting to connect to origin

Permalink Reply by Tyler on November 22, 2008 at 3:02pm

awesome thanks! and i have been looking into WWOOFing, there are quite a few opportunities all over the world

Permalink Reply by israel on January 11, 2009 at 5:25am

Wonderful...too busy with harvest out here so had not been to Bx to see your post. I hope you have already had the experience of picking coffee beans--no easy job for the good folks who do it. You are welcome to visit our farm next crop if you have not yet had the experience. In fact, we have a phenomenal need for pickers and lose most of our precious beans, along with thousands of other farmers, most years lately. You see, we are local Puerto Rico/USA, and suffer from the industrialization/high level of education of our society, so that lately pickers are few up in the alturas or high mountain coffee region. As Hawaii does, we too want to bring documented workers from other countries who would then return home with good earnings to also benefit their families/communities. Obviously, we are a safe origin to visit since La Isla del Encanto--Island of Enchantment--is a magnet for tourists. The experience you seek may be a vocational vacation, but I know it would be hard work. We do great coffee (microlot) from farming to marketing green beans/roast. So good to see folks with interests similar to ours, Israel/Sandra