Today we looked at Cafe Britt and I had an amazing time! Cafe Britt both lifts up Costa Rican culture, but it also packages it in a polished, tourist friendly way to sell products. Coffee is very important in the Costa Rican culture. The coffee plant is high mountain grown, uses volcanic soil as a natural fertilizer, has a three year growing process, and they use leaves for composting and trees to make toys. This fits into how they live up to the Costa Rican culture of sustainability and going green. The tour felt genuine because they explained the hard work and science behind coffee production instead of just trying to sell coffee.

When you arrive at Cafe Britt the location does seem very much made for visitors. They had fun decorations to look at, and a walking path with signs along the way describing each step in the coffee process which seemed touristy. They also have sample stations at each spot during the tour which isn’t just usually there. Most of the tour was explaining how good their coffee quality is. I noticed marketing psychology because the tour made guests emotionally connected to Costa Rican coffee before entering the gift shop. They also have airport locations all around the world which feels “preformed” for tourists, especially because Café Britt has become such a recognizable brand.

Overall, I think that Cafe Britt is helping Costa Rican culture rather than hurt it. They create more jobs for people, make Costa Rican coffee internationally known, and support local identity instead of copying giant corporations. I will say that they simplify and package culture in a way tourists can easily consume. I learned so much either way and even though the experience was definitely designed to sell products, I still think it celebrated costa rica culture more than it watered it down.