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Micro Coffee Baron Says Freshness is Key
By Christine Pratt
Tico Times Staff
December, 23 2000

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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Contact Michael Pierpont at Tel: (506) 228-1645
E-mail: mike@sunburstcoffee.com