Today we woke up to a very yummy breakfast of eggs and torillas, and of course coffee.  At 9am we headed to the farmers house.  His name was Miguel and his sons name was Mario.  They took us up to their coffee field and explained the coffee farming process along the way.  The hike took a little while.  It was very dusty and the thin air definitely made it a hike.  Once up in the fields we picked the coffee berries.  Every farmer in the co-op with As Green as it Gets had their own area on the volcano to farm.  They use different kinds of trees to mark their farmers and different kinds of trees to help shade the coffee plants so all the berries dont dry out.  These include avocado trees which can produce 2000 avocados a season.  We ended up picking for an hour.  We were only allowed to pick the berries that were completely red because any green berries would ruin the coffee when it was brewing.  We only ended up picking about 30lbs because this was the 6th time picking this field.  After we finished we walked back down the volcano and had lunch at Miguels house.  It was a very delicious lunch.  After lunch we convinced Miguel and his wife to dance to the music which was played on a marimba.  We then learned what happens to the coffee berries after they are picked.  First they must be shelled, this is done using bicycle with a special machine that shells the berries.  This must sit for a day to ferment.  Next they dry the berries out for about 10-12 days.  Then they shell the second layer in a different machine and find any bad berries.  They try to have a max of 10 bad berries for every 100 berries.  Next, the beans are roasted, they pop similar to popcorn.  The longer you roast them the darker the coffee is.  This is how you get the different roasts, like medium, dark, or espresso.  After this they use a grinder to grind all the beans.  Normally this is done with a machine, but we practiced by hand on a stone grinder.  Once everything was ground it was put into boiling water where it brewed.  The final step was everyone’s favorite, we got to drink the coffee. I have never had a cup of coffee and every sip I have had has been gross, but this stuff was so good! I am convincing everyone to buy their coffee through As Green as it Gets!!! We then got a special treat from Miguel, his wife, his son, and some of his 11 grandchildren.  They sang happy birthday to Matt and Mike with a traditional Spanish song.  This ended our stay at Miguel’s house.  We thanked him and his family and headed back to our house.  Tonight we will have dinner at Nico’s, and tomorrow we are learning how to cook a traditional meal.  Which includes chopping off a chicken’s head!! That’s all for now, keep following and stay with us through our internet troubles! Thank you for all of the support!

–Marie