454 Costa Rica Santa Teresa Catuai

Highlights

“Roger Urena built the Santa Teresa 2000 micromill in Santa Maria de Dota after local cooperative prices made selling cherries unviable; he started his own nursery at 15 and now runs pulping, greenhouse drying beds, patios, mechanical dryers and storage himself. About 10 of his hectares are planted to coffee and 50 more are kept as protected forest. This Catuai was depulped immediately, mechanically washed so only a trace of mucilage remained, then dried two days on concrete patios and roughly ten more on raised beds inside greenhouses, turned daily.”