COOCAFE (Consorcio de Cooperativas Cafeteleras de Guanacaste y Montes de Oro R.L.) is a network of 9 coffee cooperatives located throughout Costa Rica that provides support to over 5,000 small coffee farmers and their families. COOCAFE was created to provide these small farmers with cooperative marketing strategies, advice on diversification of crops, and export expertise following a disastrous plunge in world coffee prices in 1989 which devasted coffee growers. Through the fair trade market, COOCAFE has been able to provide a stable price to their members, as well as funds to invest in community projects.

In addition to selling coffee, COOCAFE is a strong supporter of education in the rural communities where their members live. They have provided thousands of students with scholarships and hundreds of schools have received funds to improve infrastructure and to purchase needed equipment and materials.

Unlike other coffee you find in U.S. supermarkets, every step of the production of COOCAFE’s coffee, from planting to roasting to packaging, is completed in the country of origin, returning more of the profit to the farmers. COOCAFE also commits a portion of the sales of each bag of its roasted coffee, Café Forestal, to support environmental projects in Costa Rica, like reforestation, sustainable organic production, and combating global warming.

SERRV has worked with COOCAFE to develop new blends of their roasted coffee, Cafe Forestal, and is currently the only source for purchasing this delicious coffee in the U.S.  SERRV has been working with COOCAFE since 1992.