Despite drizzling conditions early in the morning the day after Christmas, we finally went coffee picking(recogiendo cafe). It'd been all planned in the past but something always came up. This time around, we all had a good time even though Callista got initiated with a gusano bite. By the time we got home and she showered it didn't bother her anymore. Here's a tip: If you get bit by a worm in a coffee field pick a red bean, open it and rub it on the bite. It worked for Callista, no itching at all only a little swelling for a couple of hours.
The three of us picked at a friends organic, shade grown, certified bird friendly finca. One of few certified bird friendly if not the only finca in Costa Rica. Their coffee is sold to a beneficio who sells to Star Bucks. So, in a few months if you buy a double shot, non-fat, grande latte with a Costa Rican blend you might just be drinking coffee made from the beans we picked.
Our fellow pickers shared that picking at this particular finca is like picking in a park. We have to admit it did seem pretty easy at the time. The slopes were easy enough for me to handle and the rows were wide enough we weren't constantly in shrubs. The idea is to pick only the red, some rosacia or turning is okay but you want mostly red. If you get a good branch where the coffee beans are all red it's easy picking. Otherwise it can go slow. At the end of a row you clean your canasta, remove the green beans...no way to miss em, some end up in your basket and any leaves. You don't want to be labeled a "dirty picker" when your beans are cajuela'd at the end of the day.
We were slow. The others picked circles around us but we minded our picking etiquette (pick on only your row, no jumping rows) and ended up with two and three quarters cajuelas. That's with three of us picking for about 4 hours. There are individuals who I'm sure pick more than 5 times what we picked in equal time. We weren't picking for pay. We picked for the experience. However if you're curious, the going rate for our day of labor, under 3000 colones about $5. That's five dollars for the work of three. You've got to be a good picker to make a living at 1000 colones per cajuela.
As for making money farming coffee, we know a couple of Ex-pats who have coffee farms. They admit its a labor of love and the pleasure in the experience not something done purely for profit. According to them there isn't much money in it. (I'm sure there are plenty making profits from coffee farming, it's all around us but for our friends it isn't something their lives depend on as it is for others.)
The after effects from picking were minimal although both Callista and Bill were lazy the following day. Bill said he felt it in his legs whereas I had sore fingers. It was an experience we're all looking forward to again.
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