Coffee here in Costa Rica is a thing that transcends all other foods and beverages. It is everywhere, even if it not seen everywhere. My family drinks coffee every morning, during the day and even in the afternoon. This seems to be a common trend among coffee drinkers here in the Costa Rica. I have often heard other students talk about their family’s afternoon coffee, an event that includes taking a cup of coffee after work and school. Normally when we have coffee, there is food. With breakfast it is one of the drinks that compliment the other foods. Interestingly here, coffee is not usually the primary beverage; rather it comes with a glass of orange juice. To be fair, it is usually just me who eats breakfast, so it is possible that they do this for me. When coffee is taken in the afternoon, at least in my family, we have bread and natilla. The idea is put enough sour cream on your plate to last all of your coffee, all the while engage in conversation. It is a family thing, a time to come togetherand see how the day was. It is important for the little children as well. All of my brothers and sister drink some amount of coffee at some point during the week. Normally it is on the weekend and it is special, but as my mom put it, everyone drinks coffee all of his or her life. This of course is a generalization, but I think it reflects a broad truth.
I found this to be quite different than the coffee culture in the United States. I believe that there is a strong culture in the United States, however, it more about the consumption, not the event. To drink coffee, especially black, daily has power connotations, showing a driven, dedicated, and sometimes a little on the crazy side. Not bad crazy, but “I will do whatever I need to do no matter what, even if that means getting only four hours of sleep so don’t mess with me.” Also when I think of coffee in the United States, I think of that scene at the beginning of “You’ve Got Mail” where Tom Hanks has a monologue about how Starbucks allows a person to have a sense of individuality based on their type of coffee. I think this is true in some respects. This differs strongly from an assimilation idea that coffee is a source of pride we can see in Costa Rica. Thecommunity aspect is based in the shops, not the homes, in the United States. We certainly have a sense of community that surrounds coffee, but it is something that I probably romanticize. I see coffee shops as unique, a place for serious (not different than funmind you!) conversation, a social place, a place for intellect, for reading, writing, appreciating art, talking politics, learning about people and so much more. But I love coffee shops and have come to the reality that it is more of a subculture, not as overt as I wish.
The sale of coffee in Costa Rica is mainly for the houses I think, but there seems to be a huge upwelling of coffee shops and quick coffee dispensers around San Jose. The picture I have is one that Wesley and I took when we were stopping in the AM/PM. It was a coffee stand that was very similar to something I feel like I should see in the supposed fast pace United States, not Pura Vida Costa Rica. As for the rise in coffee shops, I have talked to Stephanie, Natalia (Literature Professor), and Sylvia (Spanish Professor), and all have talked about some of the cool coffee shops that they like going to. This seems to be a younger generation (all are in their twenties) thing, so it is possible that Costa Rica is reaching a point of change with regards to how coffee is perceived, at least among the young people of Costa Rica.
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