Week 7: Coffee continued

Before asking my Tica mom about the importance of coffee, I thought about what answers I would likely receive based on my observations and what I have read so far. According to the reading “The Global Studies Handbook” coffee and bananas were the two most important exports of Costa Rica. Costa Rica relied on those exports so much that one could say Costa Rica was dangerously dependent. The first thing my Tica mom talked about with regards to the importance of coffee was exportation and the economy, which I thought was interesting. She said that coffee is so important because it is a huge part of the economy. It is a big export and it also provides work. I found this so interesting, because I expected her to talk more about its relation to culture and tradition. However, when I asked her about coffee’s role in culture and tradition, she shrugged it off. It’s such a normalcy, that it isn’t always thought of as being significant in traditions. The next question asked about coffee’s connection to politics. I didn’t know what to expect with this response, because I don’t know much about the Costa Rican politics scene. The only thing I could think of is its importance to the economy, and as we studied last week in class, economy and politics are intertwined. My Tica mom said that coffee provides work for many people and over the years it has caused many people from Nicaragua and Panama to come and work in the plantations. My first thought was that this would upset many Costa Ricans and cause a political issue because jobs are being taken. However, when I talked to my Tica mom, she said that she doesn’t think it is bad for the country because Costa Ricans don’t want to work on the coffee plantations, therefore it shouldn’t pose a political issue. I wonder what other Ticans throughout the country think of this idea. It reminds me of U.S. opinions of Mexicans and the opinions about illegal immigrants taking jobs. What a mess that issue has caused.

The first public coffee place that came to mind when I saw the photo assignment for the week was Kaldi. Kaldi is one of the few coffeehouses I have seen and therefore, I thought that the public coffee culture wasn’t as big as it was in the U.S. Also, as I said in last week’s post, my family almost always drinks coffee in the house. They invite family over to drink coffee, rather than go out. When talking to my Tica mom, she said that the public coffee culture is on the rise here and has gotten very popular. Many times you’ll hear people ask to “go out” for coffee to talk and hang out. It’s similar to the idea of “Starbucks dates” that we have in the U.S. When thinking about the function of these places, I have come to find that the focus is not so much on the coffee as it is on providing that social ambience. Take Kaldi for example. It is very conducive to people meeting to chat. We even had small group there on week after classes! When I think of why I go to places like Starbucks, it is usually to meet friends and catch up. The coffee is more of an added bonus. In Costa Rica coffee is served in I would say, all restaurants. One photo below shows the serving method of coffee at the restaurant in Cartago. The other photo is of a latte and cappuccino. I feel that it illustrates much of the public coffee culture, because many times, when people go out to get coffee, it is to get a fancier drink, like a latte or cappuccino. After talking to my Tica mom, I have found that the public coffee culture here is very generational. While my Tica mom still invites my aunts over for coffee, my Tica sister will go out for it. The social is just as important, if not more important than the coffee itself, which is why people are willing to pay $4 for a coffee at Starbucks.