A Day of Interviews

For Ladies Only? - Our Life in Costa Rica Yr #3

We have a really fun women's group here, it's call Blooms.

On Tuesday we spent the day with our new friends Mike & Beverly (here from LA). They are doing their CR due diligence so Beverly wanted to attend a Blooms meeting. Because the 4 of us (me, Lavanson, Beverly & Mike) were going to the museum after, the guys were allowed to attend the "strictly all women's meeting" with us. 

There was a special hired van to drive the group to Margaret & Steve's beautiful home in Escazu, where the meeting was being held. 

Of course the guys didn't really join in the meeting - they hung out with Margaret's hubby but it was a first and a good time was had by all. 

If you come to the Central Valley (and you are a woman) you might also be interested in joining our group!

Blooms is short for "Bloom Where You Are Planted".

Our goal is to provide support & friendship to English-speaking women new (or not so new) to Costa Rica. This Facebook page is for helpful communication between members and not advertising of a commercial, religious or political nature. Notice of members' 'cottage industry' product or service availability is accepted when of benefit to the membership. Blooms meets for brunch, usually at a member's home, at 9:30 a.m. on the last Tuesday of each month. Membership is free. Most of us live in the following general areas: Grecia, Sarchi, La Garita, San Ramon, Atenas, and Alajuela. For more information, please call Joan Dewar at 2444-8796 or email dewar@casadewar.com

It's a Beautiful Story - Our Life in Costa Rica Yr #3

Worth seeing!! - if you are going to be in Costa Rica in Aug 2019 - add this one to your calendar!!!

On Sunday, August 26, six of us travelled from Grecia to San Jose to attend the 2018 Limon Roots Awards, held at the National Theater.  We also met some fellow US attendees from Michigan. They visited Limon for 5 days with a group of 27 black youths. They were here to honor their hero Dr Quince Duncan (Dr. Quince Duncan is Costa Rica's most important living Afro-Caribbean literary figure)

The Limon Roots Awards - Is part of the month-long celebration of Afrodescendants in Costa Rica, the Limon Roots 2018 Awards festival is the brainchild of Ramiro Crawford.  Being honored this year was Dr Quince Duncan, who celebrated his 50th year of writing, and the Mighty Gabby, master calypsonian from Barbados. 

The show is mostly in Spanish and since ("yo solo hablo un poco de español") when the show was over I relied on my Costa Rica friend Natasha Gordon-Chipembere to help me put some of the loose ends together. However, even with my limited Spanish I was able to get the gist of the stories (NEXT YEAR I plan to be more proficient in my Spanish! promise!)

So, with the help of Natasha - here's an overview of the evening.

The Anansi Stories - Have you ever heard of the Anansi or Anancy stories? I had not. They are famous West African stories that have traveled through the middle passage with enslaved Africans to the new world.  

Quince Duncan rewrote several very famous folkloric stories about Anansi the spider.

The Spider

As a trickster, the main character often deceives and exploits his fellow creatures for his own benefit. 
"Tricksters will themselves be duped and humbled. And however selfish and cruel they are, their antics provoke affectionate laughter, while their quick wits and mystic power inspire awe."

The highlight of the evening was a play, NEGRA SOY, directed by Sharifa Crawford and Erick Rodriguez. This play was a profound, critical meditation, a reclaiming of Blackness but specific to the invisibility of black narratives in Costa Rica and the price of being inside of black skin as a woman of color. Seven women told the story of growing up being taunted because of their curly hair, chocolate skin and rounded noses; of being on the margins in Costa Rica, especially in San Jose, where blackness and womanhood were symbols of vulnerability. Sadly most people came to San Jose to continue in school but many felt the need to straighten their hair in that fragility - these women rose! They, as a collective of beauty, told how they finally came to claim all which once brought them shame - their sensuous curves, the curl of their hair, the sheer melody of their rich brown skin. The voice of Stephannie Davis White shaped the entire production with its power. 

I am telling you - the show was AWESOME!!!!

I created a video highlighting snippets from the show (excuse me as I had to video over the heads of the people in front of me LOL) but I hope you enjoy it!

And MUCHAS GRACIAS 👏👏again to Natasha for her help!! Love You!!!💋

It's a Beautiful Story from Devon on Vimeo.

A Conversation w/Dr Carmen Hutchinson Miller Pt3 - What about us?

Video Pt 3- Conclusion
How much do Afro-Costa Ricans really know about the struggle of African-Americans?

“We didn’t want anybody telling us anything about Africa, much less calling us Africans. In hating Africa and in hating the Africans, we ended up hating ourselves, without even realizing it. Because you can’t hate the roots of a tree and not hate the tree. You can’t hate your origin and not end up hating yourself. You can’t hate Africa and not hate yourself.”

-Malcolm X

Below Story Source  Why Our African Identity Matters By Dwayne Wong (Omowale)

One of the challenges that people of African descent continue to face from the days of slavery is the question of identity.

Many of us still struggle with what we perceive to be conflicting national and ethnic identities. This is especially true in America where our historical experiences create what W.E.B. Du Bois described as a “double consciousness.” African Americans are a people that were ripped from the African continent and most still know very little about their African roots, so many African Americans simply do not see themselves as Africans. Yet, centuries of discrimination and being treated as second-class citizens has also taught African Americans that they still are not fully American either. In fact, the history of African Americans up until the present has largely been a history of struggling to be accepted by America.

photo credit source 

 This was largely done by design. The slave masters stripped Africans of their names, their languages, their culture and customs, and of their history. Not only this, but Africa has always been depicted as a negative place filled with savages and cannibals. Generations of African people living in the Americas only knew of Africa as the “Dark Continent.” Pro-slavery propaganda insisted that it was actually a benefit for an African to be taken away from their African homeland and this was a view even some Africans came to accept. 

We are the only group of people that came to the Americas by force. 
We did not leave Africa in search of a better life or in search of the American Dream. If anything, we actually lost a better standard of living by being taken to America.When the plague was devastating Europe, civilizations such as Mali and Songhai were thriving in Africa. Today we still view Africa as a “Dark Continent” which is filled with misery, poverty, and starvation. 

Secondly, we have the richest and most diverse background of any other ethnic group in the Americas. When we look at our historical roots we can trace them to various kingdoms such as Songhai, Mali, Asante, Dahomey, Kongo, Benin, Oyo, Futa Jallon and Kuba. Most African people in the Americas have a basic understanding of slavery and what that entailed, but our history is much more complex than that.

Finally, the term African is a term that connects African Americans to a global community of people of African descent that are connected by a common history and a common experience. Whether you are Jamaican, Guyanese, Trinidadian, Ghanaian, Nigerian, or Kenyan you have felt the sting of British colonialism. Haitians, Martiniquans, Senegalese, and Guineans have all felt the sting of French colonialism. Brazilians, Angolans, and Mozambicans have all suffered through Portuguese colonialism. And just about every group of African people in the world has experienced American racism in one form or another. The experiences may differ, but all people of African descent have been victimized by racism and oppression in one form or another.
I think one of the reasons why so many African people living in the United States and the Caribbean do not like thinking of themselves as African is because of the collective ignorance that many of us still have about our African roots and why those roots are important.

When the education system is geared mostly towards European history and culture, and the media depictions of Africa are still largely negative and misinformed, it’s easy to understand why many people of African descent would look at their own ancestral roots negatively.

Read the entire article here

"What about us?" My conversation with Dr Miller below

A Conversation with Dr Carmen Hutchinson Miller Pt3 from Devon on Vimeo.

A Conversation With Dr Carmen Hutchinson Miller Pt2 - Our Life in Costa Rica Yr #2

Video #2
"America" is more than just the United States of America!!

It really bothers many Ticos (a lot) that many of us from the USA call ourselves "American" or say that we are from America. I've been traveling for many years and I actually never heard this complaint until I arrived in Costa Rica.  

After our conversation I wanted to research a little further on the subject of folks from the US referring to themselves as coming from "America." (Since most of the world agrees on a seven-continent view of the world, it is important to remember that we also distinguish a person from South America as South American and a person from North America as North American, more commonly than simply American.) 

Why we call ourselves Americans

and as you will read, it's not exactly all our fault! 😄

Here's some information that I found. 

As the world knocks out political incorrectness left and right, there needs to be something else to fill the void, it seems. This American moniker dispute has really picked up some momentum in the last decade. However, it is important to note that the definition of American has virtually remained the same in the English language for over two centuries now.  

_____________________

A·mer·i·can

əˈmerəkən/

adjective

1. 1. 

   
   

   relating to or characteristic of the United States or its inhabitants.

   
   

   "the election of a new American president"

noun

1. 1. 

   a native or citizen of the United States.

   • 
     
2. 2. 

   the English language as it is used in the United States; American English.

______________________________________________________________

video #2 here

A Conversation with Dr Carmen Hutchinson Miller Pt 2 from Devon on Vimeo.

In the English language, American came to refer specifically to the peoples of British America, and later narrowed down more to include just the newly-formed country of the United States of America – and note that this happened in the late 1700’s. The United Nations recognizes that the term American refers to the people of the United States.

The name of the country is United States of America. Simply put, there are not any other countries (that come to mind, at least) that have the word America within their official name as does the United States of America. There is much less fault to be found in the full name of the USA, but it is the demonym that draws ire in others. 

Thus, when demonyms (A demonym or gentilic is a word used for people or the inhabitants of a place. The name of a people's language is usually the same as this word, for example, the "English" (language or people). Some places may not have a word for the people that live there) it is usually from the most unique part of the full official name, such as Mexico (whose official name is United Mexican States) for example, or it is with the geographical component to their name, as in the case of South Africa or Central Africa. The unique part of the United States of America is America, so it became the root of the demonym; since there’s no other country with that word within its name.

As the term was not picked by citizens of the USA to begin with, but rather the USA’s mother country/national enemy at the time, Great Britain, so this should not be an example of American ignorance or arrogance. 
Source

Are YOU guilty of being an arrogant gringo?

Hopefully we all know by now to be careful not to come across as having an attitude of superiority. Even so, it still comes across from many of us from North American that we are better than our brothers and sisters in other parts of the world and that our ways and our customs are better than those of others. We really need to make a conscious effort to change this whenever we can. 

I also agree with Dr Miller that in international spaces, we should strive to be considerate in our language and keep in mind at all times that we are visitors in another country!!

A Conversation with Dr Carmen Hutchinson Miller - Our Life in Costa Rica Yr #2

This is a video trilogy discussion with my friend, Dr Carmen Hutchinson Miller.

Carmen Hutchinson Miller is an Afro-Costa Rican, born in the Port of Limón.  She is a member of the Caribbean díaspora and a third generation descendant of Jamaicans who migrated to Costa Rica in the late 19th century.

Puerto Limón

Dr Carmen Hutchinson Miller, completed her PhD in history at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, Barbados. She holds a B.A. in Theology from the Universidad Nazarena de las Americas, an M.A. Education from the Universidad Latina de Costa Rica and an M.A. History, University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus. Carmen Hutchinson Miller is currently a University Professor here in Costa Rica.

Dr Hutchinson Miller is the ONLY certified Sisterlocks Consultant in Costa Rica. I had originally planned to interview Dr Miller on these various subjects anyway but...it just so happened that on Saturday I was at her home for a long overdue Sisterlocks hair re-tightening appointment and we began discussing a few very interesting topics (which as travelers, we should all be aware of) so I thought I would share our conversation with you (btw- there is no discussion of hair at!!LOL).  I grabbed my phone and began recording. (Please excuse the camera angles. I was having my hair done while also shooting the video!)

The conversation is in 3 parts.

The topics are:

Video #1. How and why did black people immigrate to the Caribbean Coast of Costa Rica in the first place?

Video #2. "America" is more than just the United States of America
And, are YOU guilty of being an arrogant gringo?

Video #3. How much do Afro-Costa Ricans really know about the struggle of African-Americans?

and...here is video #1

Conversations with Dr Carmen Hutchinson Miller (video #1) from Devon on Vimeo.

Carmen Hutchinson Miller is the author of several books as well as numerous articles:

Hutchinson Miller, Carmen. “Contemporary Gender Relations Among Afro-Costa Ricans.” In Love and Power: Caribbean Discourses on Gender. Ed. Eudine Barriteau. UWI Press. 2012: 418-449.

Hutchinson Miller, Carmen. “Portrayal of Eugenia Charles in the Regional Print Media 1980-1995.” In Enjoying Power: Eugenia Charles and Political Leadership in the Commonwealth Caribbean.  Eds. Eudine Barriteau and Alan Cobley.  Jamaica: UWI Press, 2006: 239-258.

Hutchinson Miller, Carmen. “In Memory of my Ancestors: Contribution of Afro-Jamaican Women in the Cultural and Economic Development of Port Limón, Costa Rica.  In Regional Footprints: The Travels and Travails of Early Caribbean Migrants.   Eds.  Annette Insanally, Mark Clifford and Sean Sheriff.  Jamaica: Latin American-Caribbean Centre (LACC) UWI in association with the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies (SALISES), UWI, 2006: 266-291

Give More Power To The People - Our Life in Costa Rica Yr #2

As some of you may know, Dr Angela Davis was in Costa Rica on Tuesday. She was here to deliver the inaugural lecture for the 2018 school year for the University of Costa Rica.

And the memories came flooding back!

Founded in October of 1966 in Oakland, California at Merritt College, by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale, the Black Panther Party for Self Defense (BPP) became the most famous black power organization of the late 1960s. It has become a model for other exploited and oppressed people within a government.

"Free Huey" was our battle cry!

I began college in the the fall of 1968 and I was deeply affected by the Black Panther Party. Like many other young black people, I wanted very much to join.  I saw the civil rights demonstrators, the freedom fighters, and I was very impressed. I wanted to spread consciousness about black oppression and exploitation. This was the start of my social activism. Not an easy thing to do on a college campus in Colorado (located in the middle of cattle country) where there were barely 100 black students.  But, we tried. We started the Black Student Union and staged sit ins at our administration office to obtain classes which were relevant to black people.  I still remember how terrified I was that that we were going to be arrested and of course my parents knew nothing about what I was doing. I ended up with a minor in Black Studies. 

Eventually, in 1974, I left Colorado and moved to Oakland California. I lived in California until our move to Costa Rica in 2016. 

Anyway, all of this came back to me as I sat among today's young college students and listened to Angela Davis deliver her powerful speech on Tuesday. With 1,000 in attendance, Dr Davis received a much deserved standing ovation at the end of her lecture.

BTW- Getting to an event or just about anywhere, for us, is part of the adventure. We left our home on the ridges of San Luis at approx 2:00pm for a 6:00pm event, held in San Jose, a mere 27 miles away. We arrived home around 10pm. 

Angela Davis in Costa Rica from Devon on Vimeo.

We were seated in "piso tres" ( 3rd floor)  I did not take my "real" camera with the perfect zoom. 

This video was shot with my iPhone. 

If you would like to view the entire lecture you can see it here 

Music Credit

(For God's Sake) Give More Power to the People is the third studio album by American soul group The Chi-Lites, produced and largely written by lead singer Eugene Record. The album was released in 1971 on the Brunswick label

Oh What A Beautiful Morning - Our Life in Costa Rica Yr #2

I bring you good news!

These are REAL clouds LOL

Firstly - I was sitting in my living room yesterday and I looked out the window at the beautiful puffy clouds and it reminded me how beautiful the sky used to look in the city where I lived in California. Over the last 30 years the beautiful blue sky has turned to milky white by the end of the day covering the sky in clouds. Most people have gotten so used to it that they have forgotten what the sky is suppose to look like. I will leave you to your own conclusions about what you think has happened.

I just wanted to say how happy I am to be in a country where the skies are still clear and beautiful!

Also, Mornings are my favorite time!

Every morning I go outside to sweep the patio and while I am out, I remind myself how blessed we are to be living in such a beautiful place. Peaceful, Blue Skies, Birds Chirping, Dogs Barking in the distance.

I started a new garden back in December so I have been taking snapshots of the flowers as they unfold and come into bloom. And do you remember that tiny little papaya tree grown from seeds tossed into the yard? Well it is getting so tall now.

Thought I would share some of the beauty with you in the short video below. 

Good Morning from San Luis de Grecia, Costa Rica from Devon on Vimeo.

Secondly - The Aspiring Expats Facebook page has reached 1,000 LIKES and over 1,050 Followers!!

Muchas Gracias for all your support! 

BUT...The biggest news of all is.....

The presidential election

Meet Costa Rica’s 48th President, Carlos Alvarado

Carlos Alvarado, a Progressive, age 38 (the youngest president elected in Costa Rica) won in a landslide over his opponent Fabricio Alvarado. One of the main campaign issues was over Gay rights. 

"The Inter-American Court on Human Rights’ (IACHR) on January 9th ruled that all 20 countries recognizing its jurisdiction should legalize same-sex marriage. Fabricio Alvarado, an evangelical journalist and singer, attacked the decision, threatening to withdraw Costa Rica from the court."

Thank goodness he lost!!!

saving the best for last

And even more good news is that....Drum Roll please!!!

Meet Costa Rica’s Vice President, Epsy Campbell

History was made last night: Epsy Campbell, a longtime presence in the Legislative Assembly and Citizen Action Party (PAC), has become the first female Afro-descendent vice president in Costa Rican history.

Pura Vida - Life is Good

INAMU in San Jose - Our Life in Costa Rica Yr #2

Objective:

difundir y analizar los avances y desafios del Foro Nacional de mujeres Afrodescendietentes a traves del dialogo entre sus integrantes y actores claves

Translation:

disseminate and analyze the progress and challenges of the National Forum of Afro-descendant women through dialogue among its members and key actors

Shirley and me with a couple of the ladies from Limon

We were very pleased to be invited to attend the INAMU Conference at the Holiday Inn in San Jose on Thursday. The conference was an all day event starting at 8:00am. We hired a driver and 6 of us from Grecia went to the conference. In rush hour traffic, the ride took 2 hrs.

The focus of this conference was on women of Afro-descent and the majority of the women who attended made the journey from Limon on the Caribbean Coast (about 4 hrs away). Also in attendance were Tracy Davidson-Celestine, Trinidad and Tobago Ambassador to Costa Rica and Alejandra Mora, Vice Ministra of INAMU (Instituto Nacional de las Mujeres - National Institute of Women)

The conference was conducted almost entirely in Spanish. They provided us with several translators to sit amongst us folks from the US and help us to understand what was being said.

Although I was not able to understand all of what was being said in Spanish, I am getting pretty good at reading, so was pretty proud of myself anyway!!

This is only part of the group. So many photos were being taken that most of the group had dispersed before I could get my photo LOL

Muchas Gracias INAMU for the invitation!!!

Currently Listening - Our Life in Costa Rica Yr #2

Another new friend

Met Bertie when Toni & I went shopping last Friday. She met us at the USA Furniture Mart and did the negotiating for our purchases. Then we all went to San Ramon for a wonderful lunch (while it poured down rain outside -- we enjoyed a couple of glasses of vino, some calamari, ceviche, guac and chips).
A perfect "girls" lunch! 

During the conversation I found out that she is a jazz singer (originally from CT) and sings at a little club in San Jose (CR). She and her hubby have a beautiful home near San Ramon (CR). She has sung for some wealthy aristocrats in Dubai and will be appearing in Havana in January. She is planning to charter a plane to take some of her friends to join her.

Last night at dinner (House Hunters Int house #1) my friend Mary Ellen gave me a copy of Bertie's Cd.

Listening now 

and 

WOW!!!!

Who knew?

BTW - Lovin my life - beats answering calls and talking to clients all day - sorry Arceli 😂

New Friends - Our Life in Costa Rica Yr #2

People always ask me "what do you do with your time in Costa Rica?" There is so much to do. For one, I joined a women's group called Blooms last year when we first arrived. It's an excellent way to meet other expats and to socialize, although the group is very involved in giving back to the community through charitable projects.

Blooms is short for "Bloom Where You Are Planted". Our goal is to provide support & friendship to English-speaking women new (or not so new) to Costa Rica.Blooms meets for brunch, usually at a member's home, at 9:30 a.m. on the last Tuesday of each month.Membership is free.

Because the meeting location changes each month (and we don't have a car), I'm not able to attend as often as I would like but Marilyn offered to give me a ride to the June meeting. It was held at the home of an artist in the nearby city of Atenas. The meetings are usually pretty crowded. At this meeting I met Toni, who has been in Costa Rica for about 9 months. She is a retired math teacher from WA and her partner Steve, is from San Francisco. Toni & I are military brats so we hit it right off. (Steve is also a military brat). They have 2 dogs and a cat.

Toni picked me up at the little red church in Grecia on Friday and we went furniture shopping near San Ramon (where I bought my furniture piece). We stopped by her house on the way so that I could see it. 

Toni & Steve bought a beautiful, 2 story, "boho chic" little house (Toni calls it a tree house) in Rosario de Naranjo which is not too far from me, but I had never been there. The walkway to the front door of their house is a bridge (you can see the walkway in the video). How many people have to cross a bridge to get into their house? 

They are currently in the process of doing some remodeling and maintenance. It is the coolest house and they also have a pool. There are several rental casitas on the property and a once popular boutique hotel which is now closed. The area is beautiful! It is a hidden gem. Naranjo is only about 20 minutes (or about 12 miles) from Grecia but it is completely different (and hot). Her area is like a jungle and reminds me a lot of some of the beaches, like Puerto Viejo. When we were out walking I expected to see the ocean at every turn, but of course we are hours away from any beach.

Lavanson & I are having lunch at their place later this week.

To give you an idea of how diverse the areas around here are, here's a glimpse of their property

New friends from Devon on Vimeo.

Give me a head with hair - Our Life in Costa Rica

Some may find it easier than others to locate a good beauty salon in Grecia.

above - expats on our ridge have the option of having their hair done outside on the beautiful patio. Done by NY hair stylist - she does not do relaxers for black women

Give me a head with hair, long beautiful hair

Shining, gleaming, streaming, flaxen, waxen

Give me down to there, hair, shoulder length or longer

 Hair - Hair Lyrics |

Fernando is a Colombian barber. He has a shop located in Grecia (near MasQ Sabor).

 He cuts hair for men only

Flow it, show it

Long as God can grow, my hair

I want long, straight, curly, fuzzy, snaggy, shaggy, ratty, matty

Oily, greasy, fleecy, shining, gleaming, streaming, flaxen, waxen

Knotted, polka dotted, twisted, beaded, braided

Powered, flowered and confettied

Bangled, tangled, spangled and spahettied

 Hair - Hair Lyrics | 

Hair Update: Black women (and/or women with kinky hair texture), if you are not wearing your hair natural so far I have NO answer to the question of "where can I get my hair done?" Sorry, will keep looking

My Story (video) - Our Life in Costa Rica

Some of you may remember a few months ago I teamed up with a group of dynamic black women and we presented a relocation webinar.

Today I am sharing my portion of the webinar with you. It has also been placed on my sidebar for future reference. The video is open for anyone to view so if you have friends or relatives that are interested please feel free to share it.

So Sorry Fellas!!
You can watch the video but the group is called Black Women Thriving Abroad and is meant to be  informational and provide support for Black women living  (or contemplating relocation) outside of the USA.

The closed group is currently on Facebook (under that name)  

This is an invitation only group to meet and share with likeminded individuals. Ask questions, share your thoughts, learn about places and additional steps to take and be part of a community with others who have similar goals and passion.

If anyone is interested in joining or if you have other questions please feel free to contact me via email, comment or Facebook. You can also see ALL of the videos on our website (you will automatically be added to the Facebook group)

Hope you will find the information in this 30 minute video helpful

Email subscribers please click the link the view the video

Black Women Thriving Abroad: Costa Rica from Devon on Vimeo.

We're all back! - Our Life in Costa Rica

Details to follow

Coffee Talk

Let me start by saying this -- I have never been much of a coffee drinker.

In the states I sort of pretended to drink a Starbucks Caramel Macchiato (which would inevitably end up in the garbage at days end)!

I had done some reading about the benefits of coffee before moving to Costa Rica but decided to do some serious research one I arrived. I also wanted to taste some "real" coffee.

First up - why not rent a house on a coffee farm?

OK - With that completed I started on my journey to understanding coffee.

our chorreador (purchased @ Espiritu Santo)

The history of Costa Rica has been tied to coffee plantations. Costa Rica's location between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean make ideal conditions for the cultivation of coffee.

Let's talk coffee!!

• There are more than 100 coffee trees per head of population
• This makes more than 400 million coffee trees in Costa Rica, a country of 3.7 million inhabitants, 
• After bananas, Costa Rican’s main export is coffee
• While they export huge amounts of coffee beans, Ticos (Costa Ricans) keep a lot of their coffee right at home. You’ll find a “chorreador” in Just about every home in Costa Rica, the apparatus used to make a pot or a mug of coffee that’s been described as a ‘coffee sock.’ The chorreador consists of a wood stand that holds the cloth filter that holds the coffee grounds, and then the hot water is poured through, first absorbing into the cloth and seeping slowly into the pot or mug
• There are more than 300 different top quality Arabica coffees from Costa Rica. It is illegal to grow any other type of coffee. 
  
  
  There are also a wide (and varied) variety of benefits to drinking coffee. 
  Many you can learn by taking a tour such as we did. 
  
  
  Check out our Espiritu Santo Coffee Tour below
  
  

Coffee Talk from Devon on Vimeo.
Video link above


We are buying organic coffee (very hard to find) from a new friend who grows coffee right in our neighborhood.   Love her coffee

Vista Ladera Estate

Her name is Sandra Brooks and she is an African American who has lived in Costa Rica since 2002.
For more please check out her coffee and her story here