The Coffee and Food of Costa Rica

When you’re visiting Costa Rica, it’s almost sacrilegious, coffee lover or not, to refuse to try some of their world famous coffee.  It is probably the most fresh, whole coffee that I have ever tasted in my life, and when combined with their amazing food, it beats some of America’s five- star food eateries.  It is truly an experience that I will never forget. 

                In Costa Rica, almost everything is cheap; food (sometimes less than a dollar), coffee, and souvenirs.  At most, a pound of coffee, is only about $7.00 or 3500 colones  (the Costa Rican money system), In the United States, that much coffee (that may I mention, wouldn’t be as fresh or good) could cost you upwards of $12.00 or more. 

                When the Costa Ricans traditionally make coffee, they add just a little bit of sugar and a bit of creamer, they do so in the right amount to really make it taste perfect.  When I passed my coffee proposal, my second cup of coffee, was Costa Rican, so now it’s really hard to go back.

                Enough with the coffee, I want to tell you guys about some of the amazing food and drinks that they have there.  I really don’t know the name of the food, but, it is kind of like a “Hot Pocket”, it’s a pastry that is filled with meat instead of cream or fruit. It is probably one of my favorite foods there, though in close second, is a very flaky, cream filled, and powder sugar coated, pastry that we had a couple times for breakfast in San Jose’. 

                One of my favorite fruits in Costa Rica to eat is a relative to the banana, called a plantain. You normally don’t want to eat it. Sam tried it uncooked and it didn’t taste so good! Most of the time you see it fried into a brownish-yellow color, and with a little sugar it taste really amazing. I highly recommend it! 

                The best places for food in Costa Rica were not fancy places, they were places called “SODAS”, and they were created as “Truck Stops” for the stressed truck drivers that have to travel the “scary roads” of Costa Rica.  They are always VERY cheap, (about $5.00, at most) and they provide some of the food that the locals like to eat, and not the tourist.

                All in all, I really want to visit Costa Rica with my family sometime, and be able to experience even more of the area, including; the whitewater, other volcanoes, and more SODAS.  While we were there we saw so of the many cool areas in Costa Rica, like; the Arenal volcano (extremely active), La Fortuna, San Jose’, and some of the beaches.