How much do you know about coffee?

The Bean Hunter, Paul Massard, explains the coffee decaffeination process during a Saturday morning tour

Test your coffee knowledge by taking our quiz:

1. Where does The Roasterie get its beans?

2. Why air roasting?

3. What the heck is a coffee cherry?

4. How is coffee decaffeinated?

5. What happens to the caffeine once it's removed from the coffee?

6. How do I look in a hair net?

If you answered "I don't know" to any of the above questions, you need to take a tour of The Roasterie, and earn your air-roasted coffee wings.

The Roasterie offers free tours of our plant at 10 a.m. every Monday - Saturday. The tours are an hour long. All we ask is that you make a reservation by calling 816.931.4000 and that you arrive at our plant (1204 W. 27th Street at SW Boulevard in KCMO) five to ten minutes before your tour is scheduled to begin.

Costa Rica 2011: Part 3

by PAUL MASSARD, BEAN HUNTER

Climbing down the ladder

The next morning we all (except for Danny) woke at 6 and decided we would go on a quick hike to a near-by waterfall. After we got lost three times, we finally found the correct trail and were on our way. The hike was a lot scarier than any of us predicted; one misstep and we could fall a few hundred feet down to the river. After some cautious, harrowing footing we reached a metal ladder ― quite possibly the scariest part of the hike. It was a good 60 feet straight down on this rickety ladder. But once we made it down, it was just a few more minutes of hiking and we were at the waterfall. The trip was definitely worth it. Looking up at this 200-foot waterfall from the bottom of the ravine was 100-percent worth almost dying a few times on the path. After we spent a good 30 minutes just taking it all in, and really just trying to catch our breath we took off back toward the hotel. Almost. The altitude really got to us, and we all had to stop halfway back for a little breather.

Paul and Zach survived the hike... barely

Soon after our return (and recovery) we were off to visit our first farm, the beautiful Finca Santa Elena, probably the largest farm and mill we visited on our trip. The farm has 92 Hectors but grows sugar cane. After taking a tour of the very clean processing plant, (I have to say, I was very impressed by the care that all of these farmers and millers take with the cleanliness of their facilities) we were taken out to the fields and shown the different varietals, as well as how we can easily identify them. During the walk, we also talked about how the farm became Rain Forest Certified and the challenges that they face to keep those certifications. Once back at the farm house, we had some coffee and pastries while we talked more about the coffee and how it's growing.

After a great visit, we were on our way to the second stop of the day, the farm of the Aguilera brothers. I had spent some time on this farm the previous year, helping them out... and really just trying to stay out of their way as I immersed myself in coffee processing. The farm is run by 12 brothers who all work together, and each own the same percentage of the farm; it's a great family operation. Like other farmers we'd talked to, the rains really affected the Aguilera brothers' coffee in terms of quantity, but really helped the coffee in terms of quality ― which makes us really excited!

Stay tuned for the fourth and final installment of our 2011 trip to Costa Rica...

Costa Rica 2011: Part 2

by PAUL MASSARD, BEAN HUNTER

Our second day of coffee hunting began with a long drive back through San Jose and up to the West Valley; this is the region of the country where we get our Don Quijote coffee. Once we arrived at the processing mill, we started off by having a cup of coffee with Norman and Erik, the men who run the mill. This is the same mill where I spent a week working last year, so it was good to see my former co-workers and chat with them about this year's harvest, as well as what's new in their lives. After we took a tour of the facilities, I showed everyone my former living quarters. We then had a little shoveling contest and tried to disperse the coffee evenly on the patio from a specialized wheelbarrow with an opening on the bottom. After a few laughs (some of us weren't as good as others) we headed over to what would be one of the highlights of the trip.

Me attempting to maneuver the wheelbarrow

Just a short walk from the mill are the two childcare centers that The Roasterie helps fund. This year, as a small gift for the children and their teachers, we each brought along a few boxes full of school supplies and toys. We were greeted by the children singing us songs, and it was great to see how happy they seemed. After some brief introductions, we talked about what the school really needed, and came to the conclusion that they were in need of a larger kitchen and more kitchen supplies. We talked more about how they are progressing and how we can continue to help them.

Visiting the first childcare center

After saying our goodbyes, we walked up the hill and over to the other childcare center. Once there, we were again greeted by the children singing songs for us. We then took some pictures with the children, and they loved to see themselves in the photos. For about 20 minutes, they were all lining up to have their pictures taken just so they could see themselves in the camera. When we broke out the video camera, they were even more excited, seeing everything in real time on its small display screen. After some more play time, we talked to the teachers about what they were in need of this year — which was updating the playground to make it safer.

The kids seeing themselves on camera

Once back at the mill, we took a tour of the coffee silos and got to see first-hand how they put the identifying marks on the burlap bags ― and man, was it messy! After saying goodbye to everyone at the mill, we were on our way up the mountain to see some coffee fields. The harvest in this area was just about done; they had about a pass or two left on the trees to collect the final cherries that were just maturing.

Stay tuned for Part 3 of our 2011 trip to Costa Rica...