After hiking and repelling, and more hiking (and lunch) we headed down the mountain through the coffee farm and had a little tour.
Spirit Mountain Coffee Plantation has been operating for about 6 years on a long farmed piece of land where coffee farming was abandoned after a hurricane in the late 90"s. Replanting and developing new methods for growing coffee are high on the priority list here!
The ripe coffee bean on the tree is called a cherry and can be eaten. The red pulp is thin like a cherry and tastes like a mild pepper to me. But is a little sweet. The coffee seed or bean is inside. You pop it in your mouth and spit out the insides like you would a cherry. There are 2 or 3 beans inside each one.
We're in the middle of the harvest season when workers pick the beans as they ripen and they go to the processing area. The beans are de-pulped in this contraption before being washed and dried.
Here's the work team from Cuyahoga Valley, Ohio. They've been great workers and a great group of new friends. More pictures to come of the work they've been doing at Doulos.
And the wonderful Wallace family! They're an inspiration and excellent example of impacting a country for Christ through education, business and love.
One of the farm workers who lives at the plantation has caught a few wild boars and now has some piglets too. They're loud and stinky and....BACON!!!!
Back in the truck for a chilly ride home. I guess the long sleeved shirts were a good buy. It's been a lot cooler than we expected. They say it's only going to be around for a few more weeks, but we'll take it!
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