Cafe Britt Tour

Yesterday a few friends from school and I took a tour to the Cafe Britt plantation in Heredia, Costa Rica.  It was an adventure getting there as all things are in Latin America.  I was the blind guide.  All I knew was that Cafe Britt was in Heredia near an Auto Mercado.  That is all of the directions we got on the website.  We met at 9:00 AM and took our first bus into San Jose.  In San Jose, we asked a series of different people to find the bus to Heredia.  The bus driver told us we should go to the last bus stop in the center of town, but we saw a taxi line up and decided to get off there instead.  We were making casual small talk with the taxi driver and he told us about his favorite place in CR.  It was his favorite place because they grow a lot of pot there which makes it a good place to go and relax. 

We got to the tour and learned everything from how to plant to how to drink.  Our tour guides were funny both in English and Spanish.  One lady there was an embarassment to all Americans though because when the tour started in Spanish, she rudely yelled out ENGLISH PLEASE!!  One might say that at least she said please, but there was nothing polite about her voice.  The my 3 friends and I put our head down in embarassment.

I learned that it takes 3 years for a coffee plant to began to produce crop, but then it produces coffee beans for 25 years.  We learned that the fruit on the plant is actually sweet.  It is not until the fruit is processed and roasted that it has the delicious coffee flavor.  Here in Costa Rica coffee is harvested by hand in March.  They harvest in March because they know there is no rain.  They also told us that a good coffee will still have a good flavor if you have it cold.  We were entertained and educated. 

On the way back to San Jose we stopped at Auto Mercado, a supermarket filled with over-priced food items from the States.  I bought a couple Dr. Peppers and Cherry Cokes one of each for me and for Matt.   I love coffee, but Dr. Pepper and Cherry Coke ranks above all other drinks.  Only if I had had some crushed ice to go with it.

While I enjoyed my day with friends, Matt took Haley on a date to Wendy's.  For dessert they shared a Frosty.  To finish their date they played at the park.  Judging by all of the different things on Haley's shirt, I would say that they also had a great day.