Gourmet Coffee

Costa Rica had been experiencing difficulties from the this years active hurricane season. Costa Rica has lost between 5 and 10 % of its 2005-06 coffee crop due to heavy rains caused by recent hurricanes, the head of the Costa Rican Coffee Institute said. Costa Rica`s forecast for the season had been 2.8 million quintals but beans had been knocked from plants by the rain and the spread of a fungus caused by the greater moisture. Hurricane Stan and Hurricane Wilma missed Costa Rica but the large rain bands associated the storms brought them weeks of heavy rains, causing flooding in the Pacific coast region of the country and washing out roads in mountainous, coffee-growing areas. In addition to crop damage the farmers are experiencing access problems reaching their plants to harvest

Costa Rica Coffee is the second largest source of income for the country after tourism.