Coffee the Culture Staple of Costa Rica

Since our first weekend hear, we've been exposed to the ubiquitous culture of coffee here in Costa Rica (alliteration!). I myself did not drink coffee before coming here; however, it was impossible for me to resist and am now having on average two cups a day. I am continually impressed by the gradual easiness of communicating with my Tica mom. Finally, I'm able to ask questions for this blog in a way that doesn't sound like a four-year old, and she is able to give her answer without having to repeat it and make large charade gestures. My mom told me that Ticans drink coffee all day. The most common times to drink it are with breakfast in the morning and at 3 or 4 in the afternoon. She herself usually has three cups a day.

Coffee is served almost always in mugs when it's drank inside of the home or at the workplace. In cafes or restaurants coffee may be served with your own personal pot, in different flavors, as a frozen drink, and with different flavors or toppings such as whipped cream, caramel, chocolate, mint, orange, etc. Coffee is not necessarily always served with food. It can stand alone when served.

In Costa Rica coffee is so commonplace, children start to drink it as early as age three. My Tica niece is five and she's been drinking coffee since she was four. When I heard that, I was alarmed. It might be the health conscious side of me, but I feel as though all of that caffeine must have some kind of detrimental affect on the health of young children. However, who am I to judge? I have heard of stories in America where babies are fed Mountain Dew in bottles. Surely coffee isn't as bad as that, right?

Like I mentioned earlier, I now usually drink two cups of coffee a day. I find that having a cup of coffee here--at least in my Tica home--is more of a pause during the day (especially in the afternoon). It is nice to take the time to just sit and enjoy a cup of coffee while talking with my Tica mom and sister. I am not sure if we have comparable pauses in the US. In fact, coffee culture in the US seems to be almost the exact opposite of a pause. Coffee serves more as an instigator to speed up than a reason to slow down during the day. When I think of US coffee culture, images of people in work clothes talking on bluetooths impatiently waiting in line at Starbucks come to mind. I'm not sure how accurate that picture of US coffee culture is--that is because I myself have not been a coffee drinker in the US. However, I will say that I have not seen people carrying around travel coffee thermoses here in San Jose. Coffee is not something to pour/buy and take with you on the go. It's something to sit down and be enjoyed.

Below is a picture of my cup of coffee from this afternoon. My mom usually makes instant coffee by heating up milk and then mixing in the coffee powder stuff--like I said before, I am not very knowledgeable when it comes to consuming, preparing, or serving coffee.