Costa Rica's Coffee Solves Identity Crisis
From: www.insidecostarica.com
Coffee from Costa Rica just received a self-identity seal that sets it apart from ordinary coffee, as it lifts it to the category of “prestige” coffee. The seal, in the form of a geographic identity, will certify that the coffee was grown in Costa Rica and contains no beans from other regions. This new status was compared to the descriptions of wine that identify certain ones as from designated provinces.
The trademark, awarded a week ago by the CR Ministry of Agriculture, designates that the air, climate and soil of Costa Rica produce particular qualities unique to the region. The designation is placed on other produce as well, such as bananas. Crops grown in Costa Rica share unique qualities that set them apart, according to this labeling.
According to writer Rod Hughes, the sophistication of US coffee drinkers has risen remarkably from the days of the “one size fits all approach” exemplified by brands such as Maxwell House, Chase & Sanborn and others. He also gives credit to new brewing methods as contributing to the sophistication rise, which he says has created a demand for high mountain coffees from Colombia and Costa Rica – think third wave.
The best brewing method, he states, for brewing “gourmet coffee”, is the European way:
• Place the coffee grounds in a bowl or any container with a wide mouth;
• Boil water separately;
• Pour the hot water into the grounds;
• Stir gently to make sure every particle gets wet;
• Pour the bowl contents through a filter.
Note: Paper filters are acceptable to all but the most finicky European and Costa Rican coffee drinkers, who swear by the cloth filter.
Hughes suggests for the most superb Costa Rican coffee, try a boutique one or a geographical one such as a Tarrazu. ROAST which has several Tarrazu coffees and others; all ROAST Costa Ricans are single origin coffees.
Word of the Day
or·di·nary: \ˈȯr-də-ˌner-ē\
Origins: Middle English ordinarie, from Anglo-French & Medieval Latin; Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin ordinarius, from Latin ordinarius, adjective
First Known Use: 14th century
Noun1 a (1): a prelate exercising original jurisdiction over a specified territory or group (2) : a clergyman appointed formerly in England to attend condemned criminals; b : a judge of probate in some states of the United States
2: often capitalized : the parts of the Mass that do not vary from day to day
3: the regular or customary condition or course of things —usually used in the phrase out of the ordinary
4 a, British : a meal served to all comers at a fixed price; b chiefly British : a tavern or eating house serving regular meals
5: a common heraldic charge (as the bend) of simple form
Adjective1: of a kind to be expected in the normal order of events: routine, usual <an ordinary day>
2: having or constituting immediate or original jurisdiction; also: belonging to such jurisdiction
3 a: of common quality, rank, or ability <an ordinary teenager>; b : deficient in quality : poor, inferior <ordinary wine>
More Vocabulary
Finicky: adj. extremely or excessively particular, exacting, or meticulous in taste or standards
Third wave: n. a force of change fueled by knowledge and disseminated by information technology
Prestige: n. standing or estimation in the eyes of people: weight or credit in general opinion
Produce: n. agricultural products and especially fresh fruits and vegetables as distinguished from grain and other staple crops
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