Cafe

I do not drink coffee, so I was very interested to ask my Tica family the questions for this weeks post to find out more about the connotations and procedures of coffee here. Sometimes at breakfast my Tica mom will have coffee with her meal. I also know that sometimes she will not eat supper at night because she says she is full from having coffee in the afternoon. However, I did not expect when I asked my Tica dad how often Costa Ricans drank coffee that the answer would be four times. He said it was normal for people to take it with breakfast, again at 9 AM, in the afternoon around 3, and before bed at around 9 or 10 PM. That’s a lot of coffee and a lot of time to devote to it during the day since it seems like coffee is more of an experience taken at the table with a snack and conversation, rather than in the U.S. when coffee is always an on-the-go kind of thing. As I mentioned, every time I have seen coffee served her it has been with something to eat. Also, differently from the U.S., I have noticed that coffee in restaurants is usually served to where you have to pour the coffee from a small pot into the cup. This makes it seem like it is fresher and more of a treat. Also, in some places, like at the buffet in Cartago, coffee is served in a choriador. My host family also has one of these, but I have not seen them use it. They typically just use their coffeemaker. This choriador makes one cup of coffee at a time, kind of like Keurigs that are used frequently in the U.S. for the convenience of making one cup of coffee at a time.

Last week, I asked the granddaughter (who is 12) of my Tica family if she drank coffee. She said she did not because she did not like the taste, but that some of her friends drank it. When I asked my Tica dad at what age people started drinking coffee he said it just depended on the family. He mentioned that a few children drank it, and that a few teenagers drank it, but mainly it was favored by people in their twenties and above. This is similar to the United States.

Since we have been in Costa Rica, it has been obvious that coffee carries a definite significance. The coffee in Costa Rica is renowned as being much better in taste than what we have in the United States, particularly because it is grown here. When I asked my Tica dad why it was so important he said of the economy since so much is grown here and exported. I was kind of surprised when looking at the chart on “Most Coffee-Dependent Countries” at the end of “The Coffee Book” chapters that Costa Rica’s coffee export is not even five-percent of their total exports. From the way it is discussed, it seems like it makes up a larger percentage, but still it is important because it does help their economy. When I asked what coffee represents, my Tica dad said the economy and the history-the history since it has been farmed for a long time in Costa Rica, and has since taken on a definite cultural importance. This was similar to the answer that I got when I asked about how coffee is connected to the politics in Costa Rica. My Tica dad answered because it is part of the economy and since it is exported, and also that the working conditions come into play sometime, similar to what we have discussed in class about the working conditions for chocolate.

Coffee is sold in most restaurants. There are definitely not as many coffee shops like there are in the United States, particularly ones that have drive-thrus or feature fast coffee. A restaurant near us, Kaldi, has specialty coffee drinks and is a place that we have adapted to go to after school for coffee and to do homework.