The majority of coffee farms is medium sized (10 to 15 hectare), which generally sell their coffee as fresh cherries to large private and co-operative ‘beneficios'. The ‘ beneficio’ turns the red cherry into a green-dry-bean by using large pulpers, fermenting tanks, washing channels and drying facilities, both natural and mechanical. Especially during this stage, the environmental impact and costs are significant, which will be briefly addressed below. The high coffee productivity per hectare is closely related to the environmental impact of coffee as well. The intensive coffee production in Costa Rica uses improved husbandry techniques, including highdensity planting, pruning, intensive use of fertilisers and pesticides, and replanting with highyielding drought- and disease-resistant varieties.