Coffee, a Power Drink

Asking my family why coffee was important in Costa Rica opened a Pandora’s box of answers, at least in terms of condensing it to a blog post. The first thing they said was that it was the bas of the economy, in the past and still in some respects today, combined with the banana. They said that it was a huge part of the Costa Rican culture, from the past and to the present. In the past, my Tico dad said that nearly everyone worked on the coffee plantations during vacations for some extra money. Everyone talked about it, where they were to work, what they did exactly, etc. It was normal; it was all-pervasive throughout the culture. Today this is less so, as education has increased, but the effects linger, according to my Tico dad.

As for coffee in politics, I got an even more vigorous response, but one that I can more easily elaborate on. My Tico dad (mom left to help my sister study), said that coffee has always been tied in politics, even if it was to a lesser direct degree now. In the past, those who had the coffee had the money. Whoever had the money had the power politically. This connection to coffee and politics led to the creation of the train system that allowed them to maintain both their power and money. The families that had this money diversified it into other things, allowing them to stay in power. So now, coffee’s impact is that it established an elite group who are currently in power. This is at least according to my Tico dad.

I find this to be interesting. Coffee is the darling product of Costa Rica, across almost all socioeconomic classes (far as I can tell anyway, it would be interesting to look at this further). This comes into some sort of conflict with the fact that many of the people who are in charge of Costa Rica have strongly benefitted from coffee where others have not. How can a product that is in reality controlled by a few, however it is seen as a product of the common man? My Tico dad loves coffee, sees it as a vital part of Costa Rica, but he also sees it as something that is synonymous with power, a power that is established through coffee, even if it does not exist in it any more.

This is a picture of my favorite coffee shop. I would have gone it, but I always end up talking to the owner and tonight I had too much homework go through the inevitable 45 (at a minimum) experience that is coffee in a Costa Rican coffee shop. It is not quick, it is personal. It is not served fancifully, but generously. It is similar but oh so different than those in the United States. To be fair, right now all I am thinking about is drive-thru Starbucks and Dunkin’ Doughnuts.