On our second day we made the trip up to Monteverde to stay at UGA Costa Rica and see the surrounding areas. We visited a couples businesses and toured the facilities. They two businesses are very different but do have some similarities.
We visited La Bella Tica coffee, a roaster who runs his business in the area. They grow their own coffee beans as well as buying from other suppliers. He described the process and how the coffee goes from the plant to the cup. They showed the traditional ways of roasting coffee beans as well as the more efficient, modern ways. La Bella tica coffee sells their coffee mainly to local and people in the community. They are currently trying to expand the operation, by placing an email addres on the bags and shipping product as requested.
After leaving the coffee roaster we stopped at Monteverde Cosmetics, a small family operation that specializes in making organic, all natural soaps and other cosmetics. They make a base for the soaps then add in different natural ingredients to make different scents. They have a contract with the University in San Jose to help them create new scents by researching new ingredients and creating basically essential oils. Monteverde cosmetics has a larger operation and ships and sells on a larger scale. They sell to certain businesses in the San Jose area, as well as selling on Amazon. They ship crates if product to an Amazon warehouse in Florida, and it then ships to customers from there.
La Bella tica coffee only represents a small segment of the supply chai. They take coffee, process it and roast it. Then sell a small amount to local, and give some to those who help. Monteverde cosmetics takes it from the beginning to the end with the help of Amazon. Both Ways are different but they suit the business and help it become successful.
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