CRGOURMETCOFFEE.COM: using E-Commerce to mitigate the coffee paradox in Costa Rica

Abstract

We present the background and the design and development considerations for an electronic platform to sell Costa Rican roasted coffee through e-commerce, referred to as crgourmetcoffee.com (https://www.crgourmetcoffee.com). This system is proposed as a solution to mitigate the coffee paradox −phenomenon that makes the coffee prices received by famers in developing countries to be increasingly lower, despite a growing demand for this product. In this regard, crgourmetcoffee.com is aimed at enabling Costa Rican coffee farmers to sell directly its coffee to final consumers in developed countries, eliminating intermediaries in an effort to allow producers to obtain higher price margins.