Monteverde beckons you to discover the cloud forest with its exuberant nature, but the interest of this rural area is not limited to its flora and fauna: it hides know-how that has been present for many generations.
In 1948, farmer Higinio Santamaria set off from his home village of San Ramon to Monteverde. It took him more than a fortnight to reach his destination, as he made the journey on foot with his ox carts, with the aim of setting up a "Trapiche" in Monteverde. This traditional machine presses the sugar cane to extract the juice, thanks to the traction of oxen. The juice is then transformed into sugar using cooking techniques.
Thirteen years after Higinio's arrival in Monteverde, his son Juan set up a company and bought a motorized "Trapiche" for greater ease of use. Finally, in 2005, Higinio's grandson decided to open the doors of the Trapiche to visitors, to show them the process of creating cane sugar as well as coffee and cocoa.
A visit to this Trapiche is truly an immersion in the rural life of a Costa Rican family; our guide, a family friend who has played on their land since he was very young, knows all the secrets.
He first takes us to the coffee plantations. Among other things, we learn that there are over a hundred different species of coffee plant, but that only three are used to make the beverage: Iberica, Arabica and Robusta. Iberica is found mainly in Asia, but its worldwide production represents only one percent; the rest of the crop is made from Arabica and Robusta.
Our guide explains that, because of its size, Costa Rica cannot compete with the quantity of production of other countries such as Brazil, Vietnam or Colombia. So the country focuses on product quality, using only Arabica coffee, often considered the noblest of the three species on the market.
Depending on the variety of Arabica coffee planted and where it's grown, the flavor can change radically. There are three major factors behind these nuances: variety, soil quality and climate. What's more, the way the fruit is processed can also produce different flavors. Each tree branch can produce up to a hundred fruits, but not all will ripen at the same time; the harvest takes place between October and February, and every five to six years the tree must be cut at the trunk so that it can grow again and flower.
We continue our stroll around the family's property, and our guide now stops in front of huge sugarcane plantations!
A quick blow with the machete later and we're all chewing our piece of sugar cane! It's like drinking sugar water; the cane is stringy and you can't swallow it, but the sugar water is absolutely delicious! We're then shown the famous Trapiche: this iron-and-wood machine used to be powered by oxen, but for many years the system has been modernized and now uses a motor. The sugar is brought to the boil to extract a kind of liquid caramel, which is then placed in large wooden trays until it cools (when the sugar congeals). We're each given a little of this sugar paste, and told to stir it hard with a wooden spatula for several minutes. It's tiring, because it makes your arms work! But the reward is there: we've won some great caramels made with our own hands, called sobado here! What a delight!
The last part of our visit focuses on cocoa. Monteverde isn't the best place to grow cocoa, as climatic conditions aren't exactly optimal, but the family is keen to show us the process of growing and harvesting cocoa, as well as the different stages of production. How do we go from fruit to chocolate bar? These are long and meticulous stages, and our guide takes the time to explain them to us, of course, letting us taste every part of the process...
To round off this wonderful visit, we invite you to join us for a tasting... We won't go into detail about its composition, but rather invite you to come and discover it with your own eyes... and your own taste buds!
