The Starbucks Origin Experience takes partners (employees) from behind the counters of stores, corporate offices and roasting plants and brings them to work alongside farmers in coffee growing regions. The program offers a valuable perspective for people who have a passion for coffee, but may not have a connection to the distant places where coffee is grown.

Starbucks photographer Joshua Trujillo traveled with the contingent of Starbucks partners to Costa Rica this week. The photos above showcase some of what Starbucks partners witnessed on their journey. They planted young coffee seedlings, toured a mill, and walked among rows of coffee trees ready for harvest. The dark green leaves of the coffee trees were a stark contrast against the rich red of the ripened coffee cherries in the warm Costa Rica sun.

As previously reported by The Costa Rica Star, Starbucks operates an agricultural research center and coffee plantation in the skirts of the Poas volcano, province of Alajuela. Earlier this year, Starbucks announced that a decade of agronomy research will be available for commercialization in collaboration with the Costa Rican Coffee Institute (ICAFE); this research comes from the company’s Farmer Support Center, also located in Costa Rica.

In 2015, Starbucks donated thousands of seedlings from five different coffee tree hybrids developed through its research to ICAFE which will then be verified in different regions of Costa Rica most impacted by these challenging conditions.

ICAFE is Costa Rica’s leading coffee development organization responsible for research and the transferring of technology. This research will also be registered at the National Seed Office and ICAFE will make them available for commercialization in the coming years. This milestone with ICAFE is one aspect of Starbucks ongoing research commitments that include work with the World Coffee Research Institute and Promecafe.

Visit the Starbucks Costa Rica Photo Journey website here and enjoy all the pictures.