More about what it means to be a gringa

To Steph, thanks for reading and responding with such a thorough and discerning probe. You’re right that I used a … More

This Week in Coffee, Edition 3

Pride Monday I picked coffee. The men working on the house on the property I was picking on were eager … More

A bilingual evaluation of coffee measurements. How many manzanas fit in your hectare? When did acres turn into hectares? Maybe … More

Researchers are only scratching the surface of the long term harm pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and some fertilizers can have on … More

Expertise One strength in life is knowing your strengths, another is knowing how to put them to work. Roberto knows … More

Llevame- [2nd person imperative, informal]. Carry me. Take me away. Rule #1 for getting around in Costa Rica: DO accept … More

I’ve been having a lot of Reading Rainbow moments lately; there’s lots going on in Latin America and in coffee, … More

Trampa– (n. f.) trap, snare. Hacer trampas. To cheat. Farmers can’t cheat. If stuff doesn’t grow, stuff doesn’t grow. At … More

What’s one of the most common comments I get about my blog, to which I devote substantial energy and dedication … More

Research Monday I visited the Center for Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education (CATIE), where Elias proudly gave me a … More

Survey Answers Before landing in Costa Rica, I’d only seen one coffee plant: the one on display in the Tropical … More

Part of the job of any traveler is to be an ambassador for his/her home nation, so part of my … More

I had to plan an opening activity for a poetry unit I was teaching for an NYU class, and my … More

Living in New York I paid close attention to the weather, but it was usually to determine whether or not … More

Malcolm Gladwell’s book “Outliers” makes lots of interesting points, but one particularly interesting section is where he tries to tease … More