My first trip to a coffee origin country

There is a first for everything. And inevitably, firsts make a huge impression on us.

Last month I had the privilege of visiting a coffee origin country for the first time in my life: Costa Rica. To say the impression was huge….well, that would be an understatement. It’s just about life-changing to see where and how our coffee comes about.

I learned about regenerative agriculture – something entirely theoretical until you see it live. There on the ground, I understood that the most important thing is soil. I was so surprised that a coffee farm following sustainable practices looks wild, like an overgrown, untended garden with weeds almost choking out the coffee. In contrast, a conventional or commercial plantation has "bare soil" between coffee trees: a sign that farmers have used commercial herbicides to kill off anything between rows, leaving naked soil. You can feel and hear the difference between the two.

It’s a beautiful thing to stand amongst coffee trees and hear the songs of migratory birds, knowing they are feeding the earth that feeds our coffee trees, that eventually fill our cups while paying a farmer a better price…this harmony paints a picture of regenerative agriculture and makes it mean something tangible.

What worries me is the fact that I noticed - as I did when I worked in tea – how the population is getting older and older and none of their children want to take over the baton.?So, I’ve been asking myself: who will carry it on? This is alarming and I know it is an issue that Nespresso is seriously addressing.

What I saw and heard gave me an indication of how much we at Nespresso and our partners put into every step of the coffee value chain. The trip really taught me the immense work it takes to get to this end product, qualitative yet also sustainable. It instilled in me a huge respect, beyond what I already had, for the work that coffee farmers do, and the work that Nespresso AAA does with them. If I had to summarize from among all the many things I experienced, the highlights were really:

• The human factor - this is a product that human hands touch at every step of its journey
• The attention to detail - none of it happens without extraordinary attention and care
• The passion - a coffee farmer or agronomist cannot do this work without a deep love for what they do
• The appreciation - the farmers for what our AAA Sustainable Quality Program brings, but also Nespresso's appreciation for what the farmer brings
• The loyalty - the farmers to Nespresso; Nespresso to the farmers. The loyalty is a 2-way street

Not everyone is lucky enough to visit a coffee farm in their lifetime – I am acutely aware of what a blessing it was to see, and how much more profoundly I can appreciate our coffee as a result.

Thank you Costa Rica, pura vida!