It all started with a simple wet mill in 1960. Since the beginning of the cooperative, producers brought their coffee to be processed. Harvest in the Tarrazú region runs from November to March, which is also called “late ripening”.

The first step in the process is to measure the coffee by volume and check the quality each producer brings to be milled. After that, the coffee is pulped, to remove 42% of the cherries volume, which consists of its skin.

The next step is to wash the coffee of its mucilage, which is equal to 16%; this can be done in two ways: mechanically or by fermentation.

After the coffee has been washed, the beans are either sun-dried or mechanically dried. When it has lost all but 12% humidity, it’s stored for at least two months in its protective husk, in silos. This is done so the coffee will recover its natural characteristics since it has been through a lot of important changes during the milling.

The last phase is where the coffee is prepared for exporting, or for roasting. The husk is removed from the beans, which are later classified by size, weight and color. Then coffee is weighed, packaged in burlap sacks, and ready to set off for its next destination.

Over the years, Coopedota has made very important and relevant changes in its process; it has achieved reducing by 85% the usage of materials such as wood, decreasing from 8000m3 to only 1000m3 per harvest. This has also permitted controlling the temperatures automatically, where strict measures are imposed to guarantee the quality of our coffee.

Also the wet mill has achieved levels of efficiency and balance in all of its processes, by introducing machinery and equipment with cutting edge technology, which makes our processing plant at the forefront in the coffee milling industry, so that the cooperative can export and roast one of the best coffees in the world.