A remarkable coffee plantation

I am going to tell you a story about Mr Tito and his coffee plantation.

30 years ago Mr Tito, even though he knew nothing about coffee, decided to stop studying and grow coffee. Everyone told him he would fail.

He found some land which had been used for grazing prepared it and threw down about 30 varieties of coffee tree seeds. About eight took.

The machines needed for processing the coffee beans are expensive some costing between $80,000 and $200,000.

So Mr Tito made his own machines from spare car parts, scraps from construction sites and bits and pieces! His processing machine took two years to make and ten years to perfect.

The coffee is organic and no pesticides are used. As the coffee bean is toxic to the local birds fruit trees are planted to draw the birds in and they also eat any worms and insects on the coffee trees.

His coffee is world renown and has won best coffee in the world eight times! The plantation doesn't produce huge amounts and what is made is shipped as green beans to certain individual coffee houses in the States and Canada.

One of the most fasinating tours I have ever done. Worth coming to Panama just for this!

Photos

Coffee beans which we watched being roasted. Light which the American market like medium for the French and dark for the Italians! Even though I am not a coffee drinker I tried all three. The dark was way too full on!
Interesting fact - a light roast has less flavour but more caffeine - 90% to 100%. The dark roast which has a very deep flavour only has about 40% caffeine.
The third one shows his hand crafted machine that can cost up to $200,00 to buy.
The fourth shows three home made roasting machines.
The large blue one is made from the tub from a washing machine! He charges other local producers a small fee for them to roast their beans.
Lovely coffee trees. The berries are sweet and the beans are covered in a slimy substance.

And finally Mr Tito who drinks 15 cups of coffee a day! Bravo Mr Tito.Read more