HOW COULD I LEAVE COSTA RICA WITHOUT BUYING COFFEE?… WITH ADRIAN M
- LIAM C
- Jan 9, 2016
- 2 min read
After my shoot with Adrian M, I had some time to kill before the next shoot, and he invited me back to his place for some proper Costa Rican coffee. We sat in his garage which had been turned into a sort of partially open-air lounge and ate some cakes that his mum made a few days earlier.
i am a certified coffee addict. If I don’t get a cup by noon I start getting a headache, and in the past year I’ve gone to needing a minimum of two cups to function. I suppose there are worse habits to have. But the most embarrassing thing was that in this Costa Rican trip I’d gone to Starbucks twice. Blame laziness – I didn’t have time to seek out alternative cafés and when I drove past it on my way into the city, I couldn’t help driving straight there come morning when I needed my hit.
On both occasions, the café was really quiet despite being in a bustling location with a great outside terrace. It seems that Costa Ricans aren’t too happy with this place. Not that Americanisation isn’t already huge there – besides the usual McDonalds and KFC that you get in most countries, they had everything from Pizza Hut to Popeyes. Really I don’t think it’s an issue of globalisation but one of Starbucks not offering enough beans sourced from Costa Rica. In a country with great economic stakes in coffee production, why would people support drinking coffee made by Indonesian or Kenyan farmers?
Anyway, Adrian brewed the coffee in something that looked very handmade, a sort of wooden board with an executioner’s hook from which hung a pair of used ladies’ tights. The coffee filled the tights and then hot water was poured through. It was quite sweet and I wanted one. He said I could get one in the market, but I didn’t have time, so maybe I’ll throw away my electric one and build one of these. Or maybe I’ll buy one\next time I’m in Costa Rica. Oh did I mention that I’d like to go back? Yes, well it bears repeating. Elska Magazine Issue X?X in Costa Rica!
Elska Boy: Adrian M
Photographer: Liam Campbell
Location: San José, Costa Rica
Elska Magazine: N/A
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