Costa Rica is one of the major producers of coffee in Central America, producing over 108 million kilograms (238 million pounds) of coffee in 2006--the thirteenth highest level of production in the world.
History
Coffee was first introduced to Costa Rica in 1779 by Don Fransisco Xavier Navarro who brought it over from Cuba[1]. However it wasn't until 1845 that Costa Rica began exporting coffee. Twenty years after exports began, Costa Rica would export over 11 million pounds annually[2].
In 1860, Marcus Mason, invented a coffee pulper which would peel off the husk of the coffee bean and remove the parchment and pulp. This machine would catch on with the Costa Rican coffee industry, making it the first country in the West to employ automated coffee cleaning tools.
References
- ↑ William H. Ukers (1922). “History of Coffee Propagation”, All about Coffee, 9. ISBN 0810340925.
- ↑ William H. Ukers (1922). “The Production and Consumption of Coffee”, All about Coffee, 280. ISBN 0810340925.