Harvesting dates will vary from one region to another, below are the estimated start and end dates of harvest for each of the coffee regions.

The Costa Rican Coffee Institute (ICAFE), has the function of being a link between coffee collectors and producers during the 2020-2021 harvest.

ICAFE is also in charge of developing a platform for the connection between both sectors. It is also in charge of developing a communication campaign to inform and motivate Costa Ricans or foreigners (duly registered with the corresponding institutions), to join the 2020-2021 harvest coffee harvest.

ICAFE, due to its functions established in Law 2762, is NOT an employer of coffee collectors, since this aspect is specific between the producer and the coffee collector.

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The physiology of a coffee plant is very marked by the conditions that directly influence the cultivation, such as altitude and climate (temperature and precipitation), which means that in certain areas its flowering and harvesting is ahead giving as a result early ripening.

In Costa Rica there are early maturing coffee regions, where the harvesting season begins first, in Turrialba, Coto Brus and Pérez Zeledón, the graneas begin between the months of August and September; In these regions, the optimum harvest occurs in the month of November.

In the other regions, the ripening of fruit coffee is medium and late, in the Central Valley, the Western Valley and the Northern Zone, the graneas begin in October; and the optimum harvest in the month of December. For its part, in the Los Santos region, the first grains begin to be harvested until November and the optimum harvest occurs in January.

According to the Ministry of Labor, coffee producers must pay at least ¢ 1.011,22 for each cassette of coffee collected.

In some cases, there are producers who may pay more for each trunk harvested, but this will depend on the quality of the coffee harvested, as well as the harvest phase in which they are.

In the country there are 8 main coffee growing regions (Central Valley - Western Valley - Orosi - Tres Ríos - Tarrazú - Brunca - Guanacaste- Turrialba)

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The basic implements to collect coffee are the basket, sacks, rope, hat, scarf, appropriate and comfortable clothing, boots, cape, radio, a good breakfast, lunch and a lot of enthusiasm to collect coffee.

The Costa Rican Coffee Institute (ICAFE) in conjunction with various institutions have developed a series of protocols, guidelines, and tools to prevent and deal with COVID-19. These actions are essential for the proper functioning of the coffee farms during the 2020-2021 Harvest.

With the application of these tools, the Coffee Sector becomes a prepared and responsible sector to continue exercising the necessary and fundamental actions within the coffee farms.

Below you can download the protocols and guidelines:

The schedule to collect coffee starts from 6:00 a.m. and lasts until 3:00 p.m. in most cases, however, this schedule will depend on each producer, either due to logistics and weather conditions. finish the day at a later time than mentioned.

Casas de la Alegría are care centers for the sons and daughters of coffee pickers, who during the harvest season migrate from their homes to the coffee farms where they live while they work. The goal is to be able to provide children with adequate nutrition and education that promotes their culture and strengthens the bond with their traditions, while preventing children from being exposed to unsuitable conditions on the coffee farm.

The Casas de la Alegría are administered by a Coffee Cooperative in each of the regions where they are located; in Coto Brus they are managed by Coopesabalito, in Los Santos by Coopetarrazú and in Grecia by Coopevictoria, which works exclusively for the children of the collectors who are members of the Cooperative. If you require information so that your son or daughter under the age of 12 can attend the Casas de la Alegría while you collect coffee, please contact the people in charge of each of the Houses:

There is no defined method for payment of the harvest, it can vary depending on the producer, the most common are:

• When measuring the trunk, the collector approaches the basket with coffee and the producer measures that it is the complete trunk and the cash is placed inside the basket.
• In other cases, a ticket or token is deposited into the basket, with a certain value, which at the end of the week the exchange of tickets is made in monetary cash.
• Another method of payment is when the producer writes down in a notebook what is collected per day from each collector and at the end of the week the total collected is paid.
• Some producers are using the modality of depositing the money by means of bank transfer, the collected collector is noted in a notebook and deposited daily or weekly, according to the agreement established between the collector and the producer.
• Also, it is paid under the particularity of the batch, in this case the producer goes through the streets and collects all the bags, measures them as a batch and pays it accordingly.