Our Second Coffee Harvest in El Empalme San Ramon

As someone who has spent most of his life in cities and college towns, it remains an unexpected turn to own an organic coffee and fruit farm. These are THE crops of Costa Rica and before tourism and foreign investment became such a powerful part of the economy, coffee and bananas ruled.


My farm in El Empalme has an amazing ocean view and the sunset in the Pacific is an inspiring experience. El Empalme is one of the highest altitudes in the area making it ideal for coffee farming. It is also part of Costa Rican history. During the revolution that formed the modern Costa Rican state, El Empalme was where the rebels gained their strategic advantage over the government troops below due to its long views both towards Puntarenas and the Central Valley. A former Costa Rican President and San Ramon’s most famous citizen Jose Figueres had a weekend home in El Empalme. Figueres was an intellectual leader and one of the many architects of the modern Costa Rica who considered San Ramon their home. The elimination of the military, health care and education for all, and a stable democracy have roots in San Ramon.

Our farm produces just enough coffee for our own consumption and some to give away. The shade plants for the coffee are bananas, plantanos, limons and other fruit trees. Coffee is harvested once a year between December and February depending on the specific location. This is plenty to keep track of for me but there are many coffee farms in the area that are significant businesses.

Our friend Martin Rodriguez roasts the coffee for us at his farm in Bolivar. He can be seen selling his coffee most weekends at the San Ramon farmers market. I feel most grateful to Ivania, our El Empalme neighbor, who helps take care of most aspects of the farm for us.




We have a small farmhouse on the property, nicely oriented to the view. We hope to renovate it during July and August. Our goal is to retain it’s traditional nature while making it a comfortable living space.

Life is full of surprises and my farm in El Empalme has been one of the more unexpected chapters in my recent life.

Drinking The First Organic Coffee From Our Farm

It still seems way outside probability that I would ever own an organic coffee farm in Costa Rica. From my roots in Brooklyn and Ithaca NY, this has been a long journey in many ways.

This year, we have over 50 lbs. of coffee to enjoy and share with friends and family. We've been told a few hundred pounds of coffee is just a few harvests away.We turned the farm organic this year, lessening our yield while we learned about the plants and trees on our hillside acre. The banana, plantano, limon, orange, mango and other trees are trimmed and next year we should have a larger coffee yield and make better use of the fruit which shades the coffee.

The good news...the quality of our coffee is excellent. We brought our picked coffee to my friend Martin Rodriquez who is both an organic coffee farmer and also has a small roasting operation. Whereas with the San Ramon Coop, which mixes coffee beans from many local farms, Martin could keep all our beans separate and it is always fun hanging with Martin. Martin roasted it a little darker than normal as we discussed and the flavor is excellent with hints of chocolate and a rich full body.

Brewing our first crop of coffee from our farm has been a daily treat.

Our farm has the highest altitude coffee in El Empalme. It is a classic pueblo, with a school, church and very simple way of life. Our neighbors rarely seem stressed and have taught me a lot in terms of prorities and what's important.

While we enjoy our coffee, our people are working at the farm to make it an even better place in the future.

Life's a trip. You just gotta make room for what life might bring your way.... even the improbable possibilities.

Coffee Harvest

Owning an organic coffee and fruit farm in El Empalme, San Ramon, Costa Rica is just about the last thing I ever would have imagined.

This week was our first coffee harvest. The reality of the opportunity and responsibility that comes with owning a coffee farm blew our minds. We have the privilege to nurture the farm and help the community.

Don Alejandro and his family appeared out of nowhere and asked if they could pick our coffee and work on the farm. They are a poor Nicaraguan family looking for an opportunity. It’s just the beginning but using the resources of the farm to help our neighbors should be quite a trip.

We have a few hundred pounds of coffee beans that we brought to my friend Martin Rodriguez to dry, process and roast. In about 2 months OUR first organic coffee harvest will be ready to drink.

The day following coffee harvest, Don Alejandro said for the health of our 6 lemon trees, he wanted to bring in the limons. I was shocked and pleased to see 600 limons in a half a day. In 15 days, our trees should produce their next crop. We’re fantasizing about our future organic lemonade stand and how to use our mountain (literally) of fruit. Besides our lemons, our coffee farm produces manos (hands) of banana, plantano and cuadrada, guavas, guayabas, oranges and sweet lemons, water apples, mangos and pitaaya. This is the true meaning of shade-grown coffee plants, a rich eco-system of fruit shading the coffee and feeding the many birds and animals.

Our friend Christopher studied agriculture for 6 years and will coordinate the projects.

Our neighbors in El Empalme have welcomed us and the possibilities are endless. Poco a poco.... The incredible sunsets into the Pacific Ocean make this a truly magical place. I can’t really think of too many places in the world that compare to our farm in El Empalme.