But First- Coffee

Hi friends!

Have you ever been to a coffee farm? Today, I got the opportunity to visit one! Actually, the entire day was sort of a crazy whirlwind of different activities. First, we took a trip to visit El Jardín de Niños. While we were here we paired up with young children (1-4 years old). How cute is that? I was impressed by how friendly and excited the kids were; I got to be a kid again!

After this short segment of the day, the rest of the trip was focused around La Finca Integral Doña Rosa. I didn't understand the title when I first arrived in the little portion of paradise. However, after talking with our guides and leaders, I learned that Doña Rosa is centered around sustainability and giving back to the earth as much as we plan to take from it. For example, the stalks of corn are fed to the farm animals, like the chickens and goats, and then the animals turn these crops back into fertilizer for the earth. Learning about such a sensible and beautiful process really opened my eyes to the way that agriculture should be run throughout the world.

A part of our tour included getting to learn about the process behind making cane sugar. Since we didn't have an ox to turn the cane machine, we used people instead, which was quite humorous. It was interesting to think about all the work that goes into making sugar- an ingredient that is many times taken for granted. First, the pulp has to be collected, then heated to distill it, and finally left in molds to form into crystals. As an avid baker, I don't tend to think of all the work that went into my ingredients. I hope that in the future I can be more conscious about exactly where my food is coming from.

Finally- coffee. Every morning when I get up my mama tica has brewed a fresh pot of coffee- bless her soul. Today we got to witness the actual roasting process with coffee beans harvested at Doña Rosa. The process was completely mouth watering! As a coffee fanatic, I can tell you that nothing beats sipping a fresh cup of coffee from beans that were just roasted! What made it even better for me was being able to enjoy my surroundings while smelling the enticing aroma of fresh caffeine in a cup.

If I took anything away from our experiences at Doña Rosa it is that there is a lot of care and work that goes into things that I often take for granted, especially when it comes to food. Next time I pick up my morning cup o' joe, I will be sure to think about the lovely people at Doña Rosa!

Until next time!