Bird Flight

Photos (clock-wise from top left): Chart showing the structure of an unprocessed coffee cherry, coffee bushes under unique trees, a coffee cherry byproduct (part of coffee cherry skin), finished roasted coffee beans ready for grinding for your coffee, unripe coffee cherries on the bush.

When my husband and I were in Costa Rica a number of years ago, we had the lovely opportunity to visit a fair trade coffee cooperative, and were the only tourists there. We took numerous photographs at the cooperative, including the ones above. The cooperative included the coffee plantation itself, and all of the machinery and other things necessary to get the coffee to its final stage for shipping. The coffee beans were even sacked and labeled for export to places like the United States. The cooperative even included a cafe, where my husband and I sampled the varieties and even bought a number of packages. Yum!

For this challenge I have included photos of the coffee cherries and byproduct at various stages of production. Please also note the photo of the sign they posted in the cafe showing the coffee cherry’s structure before manipulation.

Note: The coffee cherry byproduct you see on the right in the middle of the photo tile can be used to make a type of tea, popular in Costa Rica. Byproducts of the coffee cherry (some not pictured) can also be used for other things like coffee flour, fertilizer, and air fresheners. Basically, there need not be any waste to the coffee cherry.

If you can afford it, please buy fair trade shade grown coffee. It’s good for the environment, and good for the coffee growers.