Thursday Travels - Coffee Plantation

Wednesday was a travel day for us and we started late.  A couple of team members started the morning by meeting with their Compassion child.  The rest of us slept in, walked around the hotel property, shopped and ate.  It was finally time to pack up and head out to our next location.  On the way, we stopped at the Fairview Estate Coffee Plantation.

The grounds were just beautiful.

Me and Auntie with team member Autumn...

We toured the coffee fields and learned about the different varieties...the dark red beans are the ones ready to be picked.

Our guide was amazing and so knowledgeable!   Coffee plants can grow and produce for 300 years!  Some of the ones on the plantation were over 100 years old.  They are also working on some hybrid varieties that are more adapted to the current environment.

The coffee plants are trimmed by hand, to keep them a certain height that is easier for harvesting.  The trimmings can be collected by local neighbors for firewood.

The coffee berries are picked and sorted by hand. 

They go through a process and series of machines to wash them and help remove the outer hull to get down to the bean. 

Berries getting a bath!

After the tour we were allowed to taste the coffee!  There were several different roast levels for us to try...light, medium and dark.  Of course, we could purchase coffee to take home as well.  Our bus smelled wonderful!

It was a very welcoming and well run plantation.  The workers are paid a living wage, and day care is provided for the children, so the women can continue to work.  The wood scraps are made available to the locals for free.  There were linen gift bags for the coffee that were made by some local women as well to give them a job.  It was nice to see an organization that cared about its surrounding community. 

After our tour, we were on our way to the Panorama Hotel, which would be our home for the next couple of nights.  Next week, we will be in the village of Kiria, where my sponsor girl lives!