Chocolate y café en Costa Rica
Chocolate y café en Costa Rica is Spanish for Coffee and Chocolate in Costa Rica.
Image credit Coffee Geek https://coffeegeek.tv/
Coffee and chocolate in Costa Rica are the two main reasons why I’d visit this South American haven. Yes, I know it’s luscious scenic landscape is beyond comparison, and I’m not just talking about the rainforests here.”¿Hablas español? ladies *wink*.
But come on now let’s get cut to the chase, what are the two things women cannot live without? No no dear, not my earlier reference guess again….what solves every imaginable affliction in the time of crisis? What brings people together and even is great in times of celebration? Coffee and chocolate.
History of Coffee in Costa Rica
According to good old Wikipedia:
In 1779 coffee production began in the Meseta Central because of the ideal soil and climate conditions for coffee plantations. Coffea arabica first imported to Europe via Arabia, that’s how it got its name. This was then introduced to Costa Rica directly from Ethiopia. In the nineteenth century, the Costa Rican government strongly encouraged coffee production. The government offered farmers plots of land for anybody who wanted to harvest the plants. The coffee plantation system in the country; therefore developed largely as result of the government’s open policy. Initially, the problem with coffee barons did play a role in internal differentiation and inequality in growth. Soon coffee became a major source of revenue surpassing cacao, tobacco, and sugar production as early as 1829.
If you love the freshly ground aroma of a good strong coffee like I do then be sure to catch a coffee tour in Costa Rica. Imagine seeing the beginning journey of your humble cup of coffee from the berry picking stage to making the coffee. I would love to experience this first hand, wouldn’t you?
Check out this video below from Coffee Tours to see how it’s done:
https://youtu.be/dcD3fCskxSk
Chocolate in Costa Rica
Did you know that the Latin name for the cacao tree’s is Theobroma Cacao ? This means “food of the gods”. The Mayans and Aztecs believed that cacao beans had magical, or even divine, properties and used them in sacred rituals, as a medicinal cure, and for holiday celebrations.
Now the other great love of my life, chocolate, by no means second fiddle to coffee when it comes to Costa Rica’s economy.
Cacao has a long history in Costa Rica. The beans were originally used as currency by indigenous tribes in Pre-Columbian times and continued to be a form of currency until the 1930s. Growing and harvesting cacao was one of the country’s major industries. But this was before the introduction of coffee in the late 1700s outpaced it. Cacao remained an important export in Costa Rica until a fungus blight swept through the plantations in 1979. This drastically reduced cacao production by 95%.
Nowadays, Costa Rica is experiencing a resurgence of cacao production. Small plantations have sprouted up mostly along the Caribbean Coast, and also on the Osa Peninsula. The Center for Tropical Agriculture and Higher Education (CATIE), based in the town of Turrialba in the Central Highlands, houses one of the world’s most important genetic banks for cacao.
{Source: Enchanting Costa Rica }
The closest I’ve come to Chocolate y cafe is this great drink from www.sanchurro.com in Australia.
My next dream trip would have to be Costa Rica for sure so I can experience my own Chocolate y cafe.
The Jax
