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Café Britt
 Coffee and Costa Rica are intimate bedfellows. Fortunately, Café Britt – the country's leading coffee roaster and exporter – offers a tour on its working plantation and roasting factory in Heredia that is both informative and entertaining. The tour enables visitors to "step inside" the Costa Rica coffee industry for a first hand look at the history of coffee in Costa Rica and its current role in the country.
Don't expect a typical, trudging walk through coffee fields, however. The Café Britt coffee tour features a multimedia presentation, quirky live skits, coffee tasting demonstrations, and a delicious lunch at its Don Prospero restaurant. The tour was launched in 1991. Since that time, the company boasts that more than 600,000 visitors have laughed and learned the story of Costa Rican coffee.
The Costa Rican Tourism Institute and the Costa Rican Chamber of Commerce have awarded the Café Britt tour for its creativity and quality.
Coffee Harvest at Cafe Britt
January
Did you know coffee comes from a fruit? The coffee harvest is taking place right now! In Costa Rica , the harvest is from November through January. Costa Rica has the perfect climate and terrain for growing arabica coffee, a balanced combination of rain and sun along with rich volcanic soils. Once they are picked by hand, ripe red coffee cherries are carefully washed in clean water, processed and sorted for quality. The harvest season coincides with the dry season so it's also a perfect time to visit our beautiful country.
February
Yes, coffee comes from a fruit! The coffee bean is the seed of the coffee fruit (known as a coffee cherry). The coffee harvest is coming to an end now. Nearly all the fruit has been picked. Once the coffee cherries have been harvested, the soils are tested to make sure they have the right acidity and nutrients for planting the new crop. This is a perfect time to fertilize the soil around the coffee plants with nitrogen and potassium because there is little rain to wash these important nutrients away. These nutrients serve to fertilize and hydrate the plants.
March
The coffee harvest is finished in Costa Rica but the work has only just begun. During this month, coffee growers prune the trees. Pruning is very important to keep the trees in optimum production conditions. This not only helps the trees stay healthy but also is important so that people can harvest the trees on steep slopes without using a ladder. During March, organic fertilizers and compost are applied to the soils. At this time, new leaves appear on the coffee trees and the coffee cycle begins again.
April
This is the last month of the dry season. This month, year-old seedlings that have grown in greenhouses are planted on the steep hillsides where they will grow for three years before they produce their first crop. The soils surrounding the coffee trees are fertilized, helping them produce new fruit and prevent disease. Organic fertilizers provide all the key minerals required by the coffee trees.
May
The rainy season begins in May and lasts until November and sometimes early December. During May you will see coffee trees in one of the most beautiful stages – flowering. The coffee tree flower appears for several days. The flowers have a sweet aroma that infuses the countryside. This scent attracts bees that collect pollen from the coffee flowers. Many people say that the smell reminds them of jasmine.
June
It rains almost every day now. This is vital to the coffee plants. In June, the first coffee cherries appear. They are small and green and won't be ready for harvesting for several more months. The soils around the plants are fortified with minerals, nutrients and organic fertilizer. It is also extremely important to control the amount of shade and humidity around the coffee trees to prevent funguses and other harmful growth around the plant.
July
The rainy season continues. This means it will rain almost every day with periods of clouds and sun in between the rain. Coffee growers apply zinc to the soil. This helps prevent the coffee cherries from dropping off the branches too soon. We also fertilize the soil with potassium and magnesium. Potassium is the key ingredient that “fills” the bean. Potassium also serves to combat bacterial attacks on the plants. Maintaining the proper levels of potassium ensures that the coffee cherries are high quality.
August
Three more months of the rainy season left. During August, coffee growers spend time fertilizing the soils on the coffee plantations where trees are lined up in rows 10-12 ft. apart. The trees must be carefully tended to prevent disease and insects from harming the plants.
September
The rainy season is in full swing. It is one of the rainiest months of the year. We are all beginning to long for our beautiful sunny days.
October
October is the sixth month of rain and it is when it most rains in Costa Rica . Storms of three or more days can hang over us without a little sign of the sun. They are not torrential rains but rather maddening storms. The coffee field is ready for the beginning of the harvest and only needs a tiny bit of sun for the cherries to start to ripen.
November
It is the beginning of the transition to the second and only other Costa Rican season: dry season is about to begin. Although it still rains a bit, warm weather starts to make its first appearances. The radiant sun and breathtaking sunsets remind us that the dry season is just around the corner. With the sun's emergence and the absence of rain throughout most of the month, the otherwise green coffee field starts to show signs of bright red. The first ripening commences and the harvest season begins.
December
The trade winds visit us in full force. The temperature in the mornings and afternoons is cool. People start to bundle up. School is finally out for the Costa Rican summer. The coffee field is buzzing with activity. On the farms, the beans for next year are selected now. Hundreds of women and men come from all around the country to the coffee fields to pick the ripe beans. The coffee pickers' work is rewarded when the truck arrives to pick up the “cajuela” (the volume of coffee delivered by each picker) in return for cash payment on the spot. In San José , the end-of-the-year festivities capture the attention of all by night.
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