The coffee culture and it's importance is evident in the way it is present in almost every situation. I do not drink coffee, so I have a very different perspective on coffee and the importance for my family. My host dad drinks coffee every morning at breakfast and every afternoon, but my mom is unable to drink coffee due to an operation she had a few years ago. He says that he always has bread with his coffee and that some people use a tradition method to make coffee (seen below) but he just uses a modern coffee pot.
The coffee maker above only makes one cup of coffee and is a traditional method of making coffee; the boiling water is poured over the ground coffee beans and it filters down into a cup. Although my family does not own this type of coffee maker and only one person drinks coffee, it is obvious that it is a large part of the culture because whenever anyone comes over, the first thing they ask about is if they want coffee. Coffee is one way of showing hospitality and no matter what time it is, they want to welcome you by offering you a cup. My family was also very vague about when children start to drink coffee, they just stated that it was available to them at special occasions and by high school most people drink coffee. I did not receive any information about the transition or how children learn to acquire the taste.
My conversations and my observations of advertisements made me realize how different the culture of coffee is Costa Rica than I thought. I have noticed very few advertisements for coffee shops or places to buy coffee outside of the house, and I have only seen a few commercials for brand named coffee to be served in the house. For the first time today, I saw a commercial for McDonald's and the focus was on the free coffee in the morning. This contrasts the grab and go coffee culture that commercials and billboards portray in the U.S. Coffee here is a cultural aspect where people value the beverage but it is not an item that is widely consumed outside of the home. Neither one of my parents stated anything about coffee being served outside the house and I think it illustrates that coffee is still very connected to family and the home. The lack of advertising reminds me of previous class discussions about how demand and supply are influenced by advertising. I have not noticed very much advertising and I think that coffee is a representation of family values, also relating to the idea that food represents values and culture.
I think that I am only viewing the older generation's opinions and traditions of coffee drinking, and because I do not drink coffee, I am also very unaware of many of the common coffee practices. I have never placed importance on the beverage and do not see it as a staple in my life in the U.S. and if someone drinks coffee often I generally assume that it is for the caffeine. Our readings and discussions, as well as my experiences with Ticans have taught me more in the past month about coffee than ever before. The more knowledge I have about coffee, the more I learn that it is a loaded beverage with many connotations associated to it. It also encourages me to learn about other cultural foods here and at home, because I am further analyzing the reasons for their popularity.
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