Fourteen coffees selected as Costa Rica ’s best will be for sale during Cosecha de Oro, an online auction to market Costa Rica ’s coffee to the world scheduled for May 17, according to a statement from the National Coffee Institute (ICAFE).

Cosecha de Oro, sponsored by ICAFE and the Fine Coffees of Costa Rica Association (SCACR) is in its fifth year.

The coffees were selected from 65 small farms around the country that produce beans classified as “boutique,” the highest-priced coffees on the market, the statement said. A group of expert tasters from the United States, Great Britain, Switzerland, Japan and Costa Rica selected these 14 coffees at a tasting held at ICAFE April 13-15.

“We’re very happy with the response from different farms that participated by sending samples, and after a rigorous selection process, these 14 have been chosen,” said SCACR director Noelia Villalobos.

After selecting these coffees, ICAFE sent 300-gram samples of each to potential bidders around the world. The auction is open to anyone who wishes to bid.

Those interested in bidding should register at coffeeaucti…; the auction will begin at 9 a.m.

-Tico Times

Three Volkswagen cars on a journey from Alaska to Chile ’s Tierra del Fuego running only on biodiesel fuel are expected to stop at San José ’s Parque del Lago hotel at 4 p.m. today, according to a statement from the German Embassy.

The small fleet of cars, driven by nine people who rotate drivers every five hours, are out to be the first to complete the 25,000 trip along the Pan-American Highway powered completely by biodiesel, a non-contaminating fuel. The team plans to make the journey in less than 15 days, the statement said.

The trip is sponsored by the Costa Rican Sports and Recreation Institute, the German Embassy, the Ministry of Foreign Relations, the Costa Rican-German Chamber of Commerce and the Costa Rican Motor Federation.

The Costa Rican government has expressed interest in “adopting new, more sustainable energy sources,” the statement said, including biological fuels, which are produced from renewable raw materials.

Biological fuels like biodiesel are produced from substances of vegetable and animal origin that, unlike traditional, fossil fuels, do not contaminate the atmosphere with carbon dioxide and contribute to global warming.

-Tico Times

Streams of volcanic rock that spewed from Arenal Volcano, in north-central Costa Rica, caused a lava avalanche that producing 700-meter craters in the volcano’s north side and isolated forest fires yesterday, according to volcanic monitoring specialist Eliecer Duarte from the Volcanological and Seismological Observatory of Costa Rica (OVSICORI), based at Universidad Nacional (UNA) in Heredia, north of San José.

According to witnesses, the lava flow ignited vegetated areas of the volcano, and the eruption produced a thick cloud of gases and ash, but the fires blew out on their own and no danger was posed to the surrounding community.

This type of activity is normal for Arenal, which has shown almost 40 years of sustained activity, Duarte said. “Eruptions occur every day, but not all of them cause an avalanche that produces craters of this size,” he added.

Scientists are studying Arenal to determine whether the eruption was caused by pressure inside the volcano or gravitational activity. Lava flow of this kind is beneficial, Duarte said, because it releases tension and prevents larger, potentially dangerous eruptions.

“As long as small rock slides occur, we can avoid larger ones,” he said. “It lets the weight and accumulation of material get stabilized.” Similar rock slides occurred in November, January and April of this year.

Residents in the Arenal area who have received informal training from OVSICORI monitor the volcano’s activity, Duarte said, and notified authorities of yesterday’s eruption.

By Amanda Roberson - Tico Times Staff