Bean there done that – A Costa Rican Adventure
When you are in Costa Rica and a dude in surf shorts hands you a tightly wrapped package weighing, oh… about a kilo, you know there is about to be an adventure…
My recent surf trip to South America became more of a storm tour than anything else. From the moment I flew in to Alajuela, the heavy rain poured down for 10-20 hours a day as 2 tropical storms piggybacked into the area and a tornado sat off the coast of Mexico. While I am always up for a challenge, attempting to surf in the equivalent of a washing machine was only amusing until I got smacked in the face with a chunk of driftwood and had to pick pebbles out of my leg after being dragged across the ocean floor by a massive wave.
It was clear we were going to need to find other things to keep us amused. Although I started the trip traveling alone, I had quickly met up with some folks at the Cuesta Arriba Hostel, in Santa Teresa. After a day or 2 of hanging out with the howler monkeys and reading trashy novels to kill the time we decided to make a move before the roads washed out and we got stranded on the Nicoya Peninsula.
We took a soggy ferry ride to Playa Hermosa (the one close to Jaco) and bunked in at the Cabinas Rancho Grande. While the surf didn’t improve much I don’t think we could have found a better spot to hunker down.
The hostel manager Roberto was a walking history book (but more entertaining than one) with incredible stories and insight into Costa Rican and Hawaiian cultures– the indigenous people, politics and the development of the land. He took me to the weekly farmer’s market in Jaco- the one right beside the river with the massive croc living in it. Unfortunately the torrential rain kept the Amish away from the market that day so I didn’t get to try their famous goat yogurt but the produce was incredible and the fresh herbs were a nice addition to my otherwise staple meal of hard boiled eggs (the kitchen at Rancho Grande is the only thing I would dock marks for).
After seeing how much coffee my mates Mike and Taylor were consuming Roberto suggested we needed to try REAL Costa Rican coffee. We are talking about 100% organic Costa Rican highlands coffee. The good stuff baby. And (of course) he knew a guy.
It pretty much went down like a Hollywood movie drug exchange. A sunglassed, shirtless guy rolls up in his truck and whips out a few tightly sealed packages disguised in burlap. We insect the goods, exchange some money and once the business has concluded we sit down together and try a sample of the goods.
Ok, so nobody was wearing a wire and we should have inspected the goods before paying up so it wasn’t exactly Tinseltown but, seriously, when we met Juan Barrantes Fernandez from Finca Rica he was rocking board shorts. Don’t let that fool you though, this man knows his family business and hung out with us for a while explaining the history of his grandfathers farm, their harvesting techniques and the little touches that set them apart, like drying the beans in the sun before roasting. The Finca Rica farm is high in the volcanic mountains of San Ramon and Palmares which has the best climate, soil, altitude and environment for producing the highest quality beans.
You might say, ‘Sure sure, I get Costa Rican coffee at my local corner store and it’s okay but…’. Sorry my friend but what you are getting up here in those vacuum sealed foil bags is about 10-15% highlands coffee and the rest is filler from the lower laying farms that produce lesser quailty beans. Sipping on a cup of 100% organic highlands coffee is a completely different experience. Finely ground beans were spooned into the cloth filters suspended by the wooden stand, a cup placed underneath, boiling water added and within seconds the freshest cup of coffee was ready and steaming. Simple and effective. No use for your fancy espresso makers here and you were definitely not going to soil your cup with cream or sugar.
This was like nothing I had ever had before. I’ll try to avoid wanky coffee snob terms but low acid created a smooth, mellow cup allowing you to actually taste the terroir (oops, there’s the wank) of the farm. The smell was so clean and incredible. Believe me, given that it was my last day before heading home, that sack of coffee was the only thing smelling good in my backpack.
So… while my surf trip wasn’t quite what I expected, as always if you keep your eyes open you are bound to stumble upon something interesting.
NOTE-When it came time to clear customs you can bet I didn’t use the word kilo anywhere on those forms! That will be 2.2lbs thank you very much. I wasn’t ready for another adventure just yet.
