Sun Burst coffee may be hard to spot on the supermarket shelf, but
its loyal drinkers are willing to look a little harder, even if it
means traveling to the west San José suburb of Escazú
to buy it straight from the roaster.
"What we're doing here is special, we want
to be as close to the consumer as possible," explains Sun Burst
founder Michael Pierpont, a former California stockbroker who moved
to Costa Rica 10 years ago, "sold my Range Rover and bought
a coffee roaster."
The self-taught micro-coffee baron buys only high-altitude
coffee grown in the hills of Costa Rica's Tarrazú region
just southwest of the colonial capital of Cartago. With the
aid of his wife Jenny, and two employees, Pierpont works out
of his 1930s-built Escazú home, toasting the beans
to light, dark, French or espresso roasts and packaging them
by hand for sale by phone, fax or Internet to anywhere in
Costa Rica, the continental U.S. or Canada. He'll also roast
to suit.
The coffee is packaged and shipped within 48 hours of roasting,
making it not only high quality, but as fresh as it gets. Domestic
customers receive their shipments through the national postal service's
(Correos de Costa Rica S.A.) new EMS service, which guarantees delivery
within 24 hours.
International sales through his Web site account
for about 80 percent of his business, and sales have nearly doubled
over the past six months thanks, in part, to a more aggressive marketing
strategy and enthusiastic word-of-mouth referrals.
But Sun Burst's small size hasn't discouraged Pierpont from
innovation. In October, when pioneering roaster Café
Britt announced its new "Tradition" line of flavored
coffees as "something without precedent or competition
on the local market," Pierpont took exception.
"I
introduced flavored coffees to Costa Rica in 1996: French
Vanilla, Hazelnut, Irish Crème and Chocolate Macadamia,"
he said. "And I have the health permit to prove it."
The flavors are top-quality, but Pierpont admits that they're
a hard sell in a country like Costa Rica, where the traditional
taste for regular coffee bridges generations and runs deep.
"The community here is very loyal to the brands
of coffee they've been drinking all their lives," he said.
"It's really hard to get people to try something new and stick
with it."
A bit of a showman who loves talking java, Pierpont
welcomes the curious into his home to observe for free the approximately
20-minute roasting process. For those who wish to combine some conventional
entertainment and food with their visit, Pierpont also contracts
"coffee experience tours" for groups of 20-45 people.
For $12-$18 each, the tours include dinner, marimba music, traditional
dancing and, if desired, the roasting tour.
 His
old home, formerly the Café El Sol restaurant, is well suited
to the task, with creaky but sturdy wood floors, antique feel and
ample, natural-looking green areas all around.
"I"m
a little roaster, one of the smallest in the country, so my niche
is top end," he said. "I want to keep my system simple,
so all my coffee is the same price, but I'm convinced that our special
offers on the Internet are the best deals around."
Sun Burst coffee is available exclusively at Super Saretto
in Escazu and select souvenir gift stores throughout Costa
Rica at prices comparable to other of the country's coffees.
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For home
delivery, visit the company's Web site at http://www.sunburstcoffee.com/
or contact Pierpont at Tel: (506) 228-1645, e-mail: mike@sunburstcoffee.com.
Cafe el Sol de Escazu S.A.
Michael Pierpont
mike@sunburstcoffee.com
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