Voyage Reflection: Coffee Connections
In every place I’ve called home, whether it be for just a few weeks, or years at a time, coffee has been an integral part of my routine, my relationships (as well as my diet). There’s something special about sharing a warm drink with someone — coffee is something that connects us, helps us relate to one another, and gives us a perspective into the culture of the people we love.
In Florida, we drink icy coconut lattes, water droplets condensing and streaming down our hands, twisting the cups deep in the sand by our beach towels. The best ones are made with cold brew coffee that steeps slowly overnight in big jugs and filtered before being poured over large cubes of ice.
In Ukraine, the coffee is prepared Turkish-style — grounds mixed in an hour-glass shaped metal carafe with a wooden handle, unfiltered, and boiled on the stove — slowly but surely. Best served with sugar and barely-sweet biscuits. The taste is powerful yet smooth, and you need to be careful to allow the grounds to relax on the bottom of your cup — don’t drink all the way to the end or you may get a mouthful.
Here in Costa Rica, coffee is built right into the culture and daily life. Every morning, my bus passes rows and rows of the dark green coffee plants which have developed bright red cherries all along the branches within the past few weeks. Traditional coffee preparation in Costa Rica involves a chorreador — a pour-over method with a cotton “sock” that hangs above your coffee mug. We take our coffee black almost every afternoon, sometimes accompanied by bowl of tropical fruit or, if you’re lucky, my favorite “gatitos” — sponge cakes filled with dulce de leche and topped with red sugar.
There are SO many other ways to prepare and enjoy the world’s favorite bean…watch this video for a few more ideas (and maybe make some in your home!)
In my home in Colorado, I can usually hear the coffee pot growling before I even slide on my thick woolen socks and make my way downstairs for a milky cup, curled up on a kitchen chair, shared over a chat with mom. For me and for so many others, coffee IS home, especially when sipped with the people you love.
Perhaps you may be traveling home right now to share food and fellowship with family and friends. If you’re buying gifts this holiday season, consider purchasing a bag of our socially responsible coffee. You can also check out our Habia Una Vez line of Costa Rican chorreadores to add some lovely aesthetic to your home and coffee routine. However you prefer to prepare it, you can rest assured that your purchase has benefitted the economic and social equality of women farmers here in Costa Rica.
Wherever you stay, and wherever you’re going this holiday season, make sure you love what’s in your cup — buy direct and skip the middleman.
Bean Voyage is a non profit that provides training and market access to female coffee producers in Costa Rica so they can produce specialty coffee, earn better income and lead sustainable lives.
Written by: Catherine Wiersma, a Master’s student studying Sustainable Natural Resource Management in the Environment, Development, and Peace at the University for Peace in San José, Costa Rica. She enjoys hiking, writing, and, of course, drinking coffee.
