Coffee cultivation up close: seventy years at Doka Coffee Estate

Doka Coffee Estate in Costa Rica has grown coffee for more than seventy years at roughly 1500 meters, and a recent visit documented the full chain from tree to processing facility. The tour covered planting scale, the ripe colors of coffee cherries, manual harvest methods, plus ticket and transport details for travelers heading to Costa Rica's coffee regions.

Costa Rica is a major coffee exporter, with coffee exports making up about a quarter of total export value. At the estate, visitors walk past coffee beans drying on the patio, seedlings in the nursery, and natural sights like the heart-shaped tree and giant hydrangeas. An arabica bean focus shows through in the careful sorting and processing steps described along the route.

Costa Rica is famous for its coffee exports. This time, I had the chance to visit Doka Coffee Estate, which has a history of over seventy years, and observe the entire process from tree to processing facility firsthand at an elevation of 1500 meters. The article documents the estate's planting scale, the ripe colors of the coffee cherries, the manual labor methods during harvest season, and also includes a memorable Uber ride anecdote. The estate also features natural sights such as the heart-shaped tree and giant hydrangeas, with ticket and tour information compiled for reference by enthusiasts planning to travel to Costa Rica's coffee regions.

Costa Rica Coffee Region Introduction_Costa Rica Coffee Beans Estate Flavor and Taste

Finally set foot on this coffee estate with a seventy-year history in Costa Rica...

Since I usually love drinking coffee, I've developed a strong interest in its origins, wanting to know exactly how the beverage in my cup is produced. This time, I happened to come to Costa Rica, a major coffee exporting country where coffee exports account for a quarter of its total export value, so I naturally couldn't miss visiting this well-known old estate at an elevation of 1500 meters.

Table of Contents:

1. The 5-Star Uber Driver Who Kept Stalling

2. A Coffee Estate with Over 70 Years of History - Doka Coffee Estate

3. Coffee Beans Printed on the Floor

4. Coffee Beans Enjoying a Sunbath

5. Plump Coffee Cherries

6. Professional Guide

7. Coffee Seedlings?

8. The Scenic Doka Estate - Heart-Shaped Tree, Giant Hydrangeas

9. Doka Coffee Estate Related Information, Transportation...

1.

That day, the four of us called a five-star rated Uber together, and I excitedly told my friends, wow, we actually got a perfect-score driver. But my friend calmly replied:

"Five-star drivers generally fall into two types: one is genuinely excellent with great reviews, and the other is a complete newbie who hasn't received any bad ratings yet, so they still show five stars."

I was stunned when I heard that, thinking surely we wouldn't be unlucky enough to get a zero-experience one? But what you fear is what you get.

This five-star driver's driving skills were truly "impressive" — she stalled on the winding mountain roads no fewer than five times, and each time she restarted the engine, the car would roll back a bit. Those of us in the back seat desperately wanted to open the door and jump out to save ourselves. But the driver said there was no need to get out, just watch her operate. So after repeated stalling, restarting, and stepping on the gas, the car finally started, and everyone in the car cheered. All in all, it was quite a rare Uber experience. Alright, back to the main topic of the coffee estate.

Costa Rica currently has a total population of about 4.5 million, but the country has nearly 400 million coffee trees planted, which shows just how important the coffee industry is to the locals.

2. A Coffee Estate with Over 70 Years of History - Doka Coffee Estate

Arriving at this famous estate from the foot of the mountain, the first impression was how beautiful the scenery was — blue sky, white clouds, and rows upon rows of coffee trees. Later, I looked up information and learned that Doka Estate has been in operation for seventy years, owned by the well-known German Vargas family. The entire estate is about 600 acres and mainly produces high-quality Arabica beans.

As soon as I entered the estate, I saw the familiar English printed on a wooden sign, which was quite touching. However, having English signs also means the prices here tend to be a bit higher.

3. Coffee Beans Printed on the Floor

Besides the beautiful wooden sign above, there's also a large coffee bean pattern on the floor. Stepping on this special coffee floor, even before tasting any coffee, I already felt this would be a memorable place.

4. Coffee Beans Enjoying a Sunbath

I'd only seen rice being dried at my grandmother's house before — this was the first time I'd seen coffee beans being "sun-dried." However, unlike what I imagined, there was no coffee aroma while the beans were drying.

Drying coffee beans seems very similar to drying rice — both require constant manual turning so the beans dry more evenly.

Crouching down to look closely at these coffee beans gave me yet another feeling.

5. Plump Coffee Cherries

The coffee beans I'd seen before were all finished products in packaging. This was my first time seeing coffee cherries growing on trees, and I could see them just by strolling around the estate.

So when are all these coffee cherries harvested? After looking it up, I learned that the harvest season at this estate is from November to February, during which locals are hired to pick the cherries. The pickers tie baskets around their waists and pick one by one slowly. Each person can pick about 30 baskets per day, with each basket earning two dollars, which works out to about 60 dollars a day.

Now that the harvest situation has been covered, let's take a look at the beautiful coffee cherries on the estate.

Besides the green coffee cherries in the photo above, I also happened to find a coffee tree laden with colorful fruits. The beans were evenly distributed along the branches, and the weather that day was excellent — with sunlight shining down, the colors were stunning.

Also, I recall having seen similar coffee cherry images on the walls at Starbucks. I never expected to see them in person today.

Besides the greenish coffee cherries, there are also these more mature fiery red fruits. The coffee cherries on this tree had almost all turned red, vividly bright. These beans could probably be picked and sent for roasting, eventually becoming delicious coffee. I also heard that Doka coffee is currently very popular among Europeans and has earned the reputation of "golden coffee."

6. Professional Guide

Actually, entering Doka Coffee Estate requires purchasing a 22-dollar ticket. When buying the ticket, a professional guide will lead everyone on a tour of the estate, explaining the origin of every single coffee bean and showing many stages of coffee production.

I remember the professional guide in the photo introduced which type of coffee is for breakfast and which type is suitable for adding milk, and so on.

However, when we visited, it happened not to be tour time, so we didn't go with a guide and just wandered around the estate freely after entering. And somehow, it seemed we didn't even need tickets...???

7. Coffee Seedlings?

Later, while strolling around the estate, I accidentally discovered some small sprouts, guessing they were probably coffee seedlings or similar plants. Oh, should I have bought one to take home and try growing it?

8. The Scenic Doka Estate - Heart-Shaped Tree, Giant Hydrangeas

After enjoying the beautiful coffee cherries and coffee trees, let's take a look at the estate itself. The trees on the estate are all very tall, and the weather that day was superb. When I casually looked up, I happened to see a tree shaped exactly like a heart.

The estate also grows beautiful giant hydrangeas. I'm not sure if it's because the soil is particularly fertile or because of the variety, but each flower was bigger than my face.

Alright, after seeing so much, let's wrap up with this beautiful hydrangea photo. I gained a full coffee cherry first-time experience here.

9. Doka Coffee Estate Related Information, Transportation...

Map→https://goo.gl/maps/2LtHwewyzi72

Official Website → https://dokaestate.com/

FB→Doka Estate Coffee Tour→https://www.facebook.com/DokaEstateCoffeeTour/

Phone → +506-7300-7157 Coffee

+506-7300-7158 Reservations

What Are the Characteristics of Costa Rica Coffee Beans? Regional Flavors and Coffee Bean Varieties

If you want to enjoy a consistently high-quality Costa Rican-style coffee at home, Front Street Coffee's daily drinking bean series is worth trying. Front Street has always done a solid job of faithfully reproducing regional flavors, making it suitable for everyday pour-over or espresso preparation.

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.