Week 6

In Costa Rica, coffee is an integral part of the culture. In my house, there are no special mugs and they aren't even stored near the coffeemaker. It is served during breakfast to everyone except me. Each family member fixes their coffee the way they like it, with the exception of my mom making my dad's coffee. I have noticed that no one in my family takes milk in their coffee, which is interesting because at home, almost everyone I know takes milk in their coffee. Everyone does use sugar, and no one in my house uses artificial sweetener. It is the complete opposite in the United States. Unless it is in a coffee drink from Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts, it is very uncommon to use natural sugar in coffee drinks. 

In the schools, there is a recess for the children which teachers use as a coffee break. Teachers use different mugs every week, and the coffee itself isn't very good. Regardless, teachers adore their beloved coffee break. It is a time when all of the teachers from that wing come together for ten glorious minutes and don't have to do anything but talk to each other. In schools in the United States, we do not have that kind of break. However, we would certainly all enjoy one similar to it. 

According to my Tica mom, there is no age at which children start drinking coffee. She said depending on the family, children start drinking coffee as soon as they can eat solid food. In other families, they wait until they can walk. Either way, people don't remember learning to drink coffee. It's always there. In the US, people don't start drinking coffee until late high school or college, sometimes later. It's a huge part of our lives and culture, but it cannot compare to the impact it has in Costa Rica. 

This picture is from Monteverde. During lunch, Brooke and Jessica got coffee. It was served in a rather fancy dish with a very small spoon. In the US, if someone ordered coffee it would come in a standard white mug with a small dish. While this coffee came in a white mug, it was served in a way that made it seem far from ordinary.