¡Ey! ¿Qué tal? Today we got to wear shorts again, thank god! For breakfast our host mom gave us fruit and pancakes, honestly I could probably eat that everyday. Moving on… The events today were café with a side of salsa. In the morning, we had the opportunity to go on a coffee tour at Café Britt and we ended the day off with dance lessons at the university. I think they raised the temperature on the bus because it was not sub degree levels even after I closed the vents for once! Or maybe I’m used to it…

Today at Café Britt we started off with a walking tour where we got to try different roasts. I’m personally not a big fan of coffee but I still forced myself to try each one. Throughout the tour our guide, Appa, took us through the history of coffee with demonstrations of the process. Café Britt actually only roasts the coffee, which means they do not have any plantations, so they buy from 3,000 different places, which supports local farmers. Even though they may not harvest the beans themselves, I think it is very important that we learned about the process. Such as how long they work, how much they make ($3/25 pounds of red cherries, around $60/day), and how they harvest them. We got to see what the farmers wear when harvesting, which all seemed to be natural for the most part. We also learned that some of the coffees are used to protect animals, such as sloths and capuchin monkeys (the sloth coffee was gross tho). We even got to peel open the pulp of the coffee cherry and expose the bean. After that experience we did a coffee taste-testing show and then went into the history of the business. Such as how it was founded in 1985 and then how they added onto the brand with cafes, gift shops, introducing a chocolate line, a habitat line, and an espresso line. We then got to visit the gift shop which had many offerings to incentivize people to buy such as “buy 3 get 1 free”.

I believe that Café Britt is doing a little of both expanding Costa Rican culture but also packaging it for tourists. They have to make their money and this largely comes from tourists. This is why the store seems money-hungry at times with its pricing, its deals, and multiple product lines. However, I feel as though the company mostly lifts the Costa Rican culture and economy. For example, them buying from local farmers is something that boosts the economy and helps the locals. On their bags of coffee beans or grinds, they all have information on the region the coffee bean is from with pictures of the area, which is heavy in Costa Rican culture and exposes tourists to it. They also protect animals, which helps all of Costa Rica and their wildlife. What separates Café Britt from simply packaging culture is that the benefits flow back to Costa Rica, to local farmers, wildlife, and regional identity, rather than just to tourists.

To end the day off on a rhythmic note, we then headed to the Universidad Latina de Costa Rica for dance lessons. The teacher taught us salsa and bachata, teaching us the basics so we can show it off either here in Costa Rica or at home. It was an exhausting experience, as it was extremely hot in the classroom with all the dancing. However, I do think it is fun to learn dances and immersing youself in other cultures. I am upset that we did not learn merengue because she could not fit it in the class time. But now I can go home and impress my grandma! This was a fun upBEAT (ha get it… ok…) end to the day. ¡Hasta mañana!