Costa Rican Coffee’s Cultural Impacts

2016 Student Field Reporter Project:  EcoTeach has enlisted the help of several students to share their 2016 Costa Rica experiences with us. Over the coming months we will regularly feature their posts, photos, and reflections – letting them tell their amazing stories of Costa Rica and it’s impact on their lives!  

Reporter:  Emma, Palisades Middle School

Coffee is everywhere in the USA. You can find a Starbucks on the corner of every street and bags and bags of coffee in every grocery store. You never walk on the city streets without seeing someone with a cup of coffee in hand. Coffee is very important there, but did you ever think of how important coffee can be in other countries?

Even though Costa Rica doesn’t have a Starbucks everywhere you go, or a Keurig coffee machine in every household, coffee is still important to them. Our tour guide for the trip, Nacho, was telling us about coffee in Costa Rica during one of our long bus rides. He told us that coffee has been a huge part of the economy in Costa Rica because all of the people buy it. In every grocery store we stopped at, there was coffee there, and there was a lot of it. Also, at every hotel we went to, there was always coffee there for us to drink in the morning. Even places like wildlife research center gift shops and souvenir shops sold coffee. The coffee from Costa Rica is even exported to other countries like the USA.

Nacho then gave us the opportunity to walk around a grocery store and even buy some of the coffee. He showed us some of the different brands of coffee. There was some coffee that was made locally, and some were nationally recognized brands of coffee. All of us were so excited to learn about and taste the coffee. Then we got to buy some to take home to our families so they could try it too.

Do you know why a lot of people buy Costa Rican coffee? It tastes better. A lot of my friends on this trip have said that they have never liked coffee when they were in the United States. However, when they were in Costa Rica they said that they really like the coffee. I agree with them; the coffee I have had in Costa Rica tastes better than the coffee I have had in the United States. Costa Rican coffee is fresher because it doesn’t have to be imported from other countries. Also, they don’t put tons of sugar and chemicals in the coffee, which is healthier and it tastes better.

I soon have to go home and leave Costa Rica, which will be very sad. I will miss the delicious coffee very much. I will still drink American coffee when I get home, even if it isn’t the best. It is my only option of coffee to drink unless they sell Costa Rican coffee in American grocery stores.  If there is one thing I have learned on my Costa Rica trip, it is to appreciate everything you have. A lot of people there might not have much, but they are still thankful for it. So, I will be thankful that I have coffee to drink in the morning back home, even if it isn’t the delicious Costa Rican coffee.