Coffee Coffee Coffee!

                When I told my host family that this week’s topic discussed coffee again, they seemed pretty excited because they are all huge coffee consumers. Even Jose, who is only seven years old, drinks a cup of black coffee every single morning. Coffee is extremely important in my house, because it represents family and social gatherings. My Tica mom loves to have friends over, and it is a guarantee that she will serve them coffee. My mom is proud of the coffee she serves, and she would never go out to have coffee. She once told me “why would I go out to have coffee that is more expensive and does not taste as good?”. I believe it is generational though because my Tica sister who is 18, loves to meet up with friends and drink coffee in the small coffee shops. She said it was a social place to talk and catch up with friends. When I asked why coffee was so important to the culture of Costa Rica, both my mom and sister simply responded that is more than a drink; it shows underlying meaning economically and politically. I asked my mom to expand what she meant by “politically” and she said that coffee was once drove the economy. The rich Costa Ricans owned coffee plantations and then went into politics. Everyone else was poor and worked in the fields for the rich coffee owners. I found this statement fascinating because on Saturday, I went on the coffee plantation tour again and our guide said almost the exact same statement. He said that many of the beautiful, colonial hotels in San Jose, were once homes owned by coffee owners. All of the wealth went to coffee, and eventually most coffee owners went into politics. It was interesting that both the tour guide and my Tica mom had the same opinion about coffee. It is obvious how important coffee is to the culture in Costa Rica. It provides jobs, an economy, and an overall national pride throughout the country.

Typically, the older Tican generations have coffee with family and friends in their own homes. The younger generations are beginning to defined the cultural norm, and go out for coffee. It is interesting because Tican teenagers are meeting at coffee houses to socialize and discuss ideas. This is a similar concept to when coffee was first introduced and became popular with the spread of coffee houses. It almost seems that coffee is making a complete circle. The photo I included was a photo of Liv, Caroline, and I drinking a cup of coffee after a meal. Coffee is a beverage option in most Costa Rican restaurant menus. If you look in the corner of the photo, you will see the coffee maker. It is an individual coffee brewer that makes only on cup at a time. You just pour hot water over the ground beans to make a cup. This is popular so every cup is rich with flavor and it summarizes the idea of quality versus quantity.