Seeing Coffee at the Source:
My Unforgettable Trip to El Recreo

By Alyssa Thomas

Alyssa Thomas was the 2024 winner of the BIGGBY NATION SUMMIT Autograph Book Competition, which entitled her to a free trip with OBIIS to one of our Farm Partners. In November, 2025, she joined the OBIIS Coffee Hunters on a trip to El Recreo in Jinotega, Nicaragua. These are her thoughts and reflections on that experience.

The farm trip was so much fun and I highly recommend going on one to others! At the farm I learned about everything from start to finish.

They have a nursery where they start all their trees from seeds they harvest from current trees. They use soil they make right on the farm with worms and the pulp from the coffee cherries. They even collect the liquid by-product from the worms to use as a fertilizer for the farm.

Most farm workers can pick up to 20 baskets of coffee cherries each day during peak harvest. Harvest season runs from late November until February or March at El Recreo.

El Recreo has the equipment on the farm to extract the seeds (“beans”) from the cherries and sort them into three categories. They wash and start the drying process right on the farm in the early and late parts of harvest, but during peak season they usually take the wet beans to the company that finishes the drying for them and gets them ready for export.

I was able to learn from one of the farm workers how to tell if cherries were ready for harvest and how to pick them without damaging the tree or preventing future fruit. Each tree has up to 10 nodes on each branch, and they flower at different times, which helps stagger the harvest.

The farm has a store, first-aid room, schoolhouse, chapel, housing, and chow hall for employees. Some farm staff live there year-round with apartment-style housing, while those who come in just for harvest have dormitory-style housing with more shared spaces.

I loved hearing from Miriam and Hector about the family history at the farm. We had an afternoon where we got to hang out with workers and their families and played soccer. The kids were such a joy to be around, even through the language barrier!

We also enjoyed a day of sightseeing in Granada. We went on a little boat tour, visited a volcano, did some shopping at a cute street market, and had lunch in town.

I’ve watched the BIGGBY videos on Farm-Direct and understand where Bob and Michelle are coming from — but going to the farm really gives you the perspective that this is the right way. I loved learning the place and the faces of El Recreo!