“Coffee was introduced into the country from Havana in 1796 by Francisco Javier Navarro, as were also the mango and the cinnamon. The first seeds were sown in Cartago. Much credit for the propagation of coffee culture in Costa Rica is due to Padre Velarde, under the government of Don Tomas de Acosta, who took great interest in agriculture. “During the administration of Don Juan Rafael Mora (1849-1857) farming received a remarkable development, for it was much promoted by the construction of important roads. The cultivation of coffee and sugar cane then absorbed the attention of the country to such an extent that, in 1861, 100,000 quintals were exported.” (J. B. Calvo’s book on Costa Rica). The census of 1892 supplies the following figures concerning coffee: Province of San José. ------------+------------+-----------+----------+-----------+---------- | Number | Number | Crop | Crop | Value | of | of | in | in | in |plantations.| trees. | quintals.| kilogr. | pesos. ------------+------------+-----------+----------+-----------+---------- San José | 1,628 | 7,321,708| 95,942 | 4,413,732| 2,648,239 Escasú | 297 | 913,712| 15,328 | 705,088| 450,840 Desamparados| 313 | 2,115,123| 28,645 | 1,317,670| 859,290 Puriscal | 183 | 85,701| 254 | 11,684| 7,620 Aserri | 223 | 272,809| 701 | 32,246| 21,030 Mora | 137 | 42,312| 191 | 8,786| 5,730 Tarrazú | 83 | 28,121| 112 | 5,152| 3,360 Goicoechea | 89 | 302,143| 10,432 | 479,872| 167,955 ------------+------------+-----------+----------+-----------+----------- Total | 2,953 | 11,081,629| 151,605 | 6,974,230| 4,164,064 ------------+------------+-----------+----------+-----------+----------- Province of Alajuela.