My wife and I are vacationing in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rico next week and thought it might be fun to bring back some ingredients for brewing. I know I can get cacoa and coffee. Does anyone have any other suggestions for exotic or interesting finds?
My wife and I are vacationing in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rico next week and thought it might be fun to bring back some ingredients for brewing. I know I can get cacoa and coffee. Does anyone have any other suggestions for exotic or interesting finds?
No ideas?
You may have a serious customs problem if you try, i would check with a customs agent before buying anything,as it is often illegal to bring back anything that could be considered a "food product" from a another country.
There are several types of foods that you can bring back, but many of them must be declared at customs and you will likely have to answer questions about what you have and/or have your luggage searched.
This syrup is known to be in every Costa Rica´s home. Ideal as a drink, sweetener, and for the famous "copos". Comes in a 480ml. plastic bottle.
The traditional breakfast drink, besides coffee, is called agua dulce ("sweet water") and is made from tapa de dulce an ingredient very similar to the American "brown sugar". "Tapa de Dulce" is made with Sugar cane juice which is boiled down in traditional trapiches and put to solidify in conical molds with the top cut off called tapas ("lids"). Then some of this tapa is scraped off and dissolved into boiling water or milk to make the agua dulce.
Coffee is usually served at breakfast and during traditional coffee breaks in the afternoon, usually around 2:00pm. It has traditionally been brewed in a native Costa Rican drip brew device called a chorreador.
The traditional drinks for lunch are called refrescos or frescos for short and consist of liquefied fruits diluted in either water or milk and sweetened to taste. They come in many varieties such as melon, blackberry, strawberry, watermelon, mango, tamarind, passion fruit, guanabana, cas and lemon or lime. You could maybe find some syrups like quanabana, Cas, Tamarind, etc)
Another popular drink is known as a granizado, a slush drink made of finely shaved ice and flavored syrup. The most popular flavor is kola. This is not the cola usually associated with carbonated soda but a fruity cherry flavored syrup. It is usually served with evaporated and/or condensed milk on top.
The national liquor of Costa Rica, guaro, is made from sugarcane. Natives often drink guaro as a shot or mixed with juice or soda. The cost of guaro is very cheap compared to beer (cerveza) in Costa Rica which has only one producer. Imperial is the most popular beer and is an American style lager that is also available in Light. Pilsen is a Bohemian style Pilsner produced in Costa Rica. During the 2007 holiday season, a 6.0 version with higher alcohol content was produced. Due to its popularity, production of Pilsen 6.0 was continued through mid-2008. At that point, it was replaced with Pilsen Red. It has a 5.2% alcohol content and a hint of red coloring. Bavaria is offered in Light, Dark or Gold. The Dutch beer, Heineken, is also produced in Costa Rica. Import beers can be found in some markets, but are common only in parts of San José or larger tourist towns.
Costa Rica produces an excellent rum: Ron Centenario and the Flor de Caña rums made in Nicaragua are also widely available.
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