Costa Rican tea has been used in our traditional medicine to help people lose weight. This popular tea is made from the dried leaves of Camila flavida , a plant native to Latin America. Costa Rica has always had a reputation for great coffee. It is one of the best places in the world to grow coffee and this fact is taken advantage of by many coffee plantations in the country. However, Costa Rica also has other drinks that can be grown which will help you lose weight. Perhaps you have heard about these drinks that are good for weight loss and you want to know more about them and other benefits they offer.
Is there tea and coffee culture in Costa Rica?
Costa Ricans take theircoffeevery seriously; in fact, the only varietal of coffee that can be grown legally is arabica– its lower-quality cousin, robusta, is strictly forbidden. You’ll find chorreadores, a wooden pour-over apparatus, in every home, and even the simplest bars and restaurants have properly maintained espresso machines.Taza Amarilla,an excellent local roaster and cafe that can be found at San Jose’s Feria Verde farmers’ market, serves shoppers organic coffee made from beans grown on small farms in some of the country’s best regions, like Terrazu and Alajuela.
There are plenty of places you can try coffee in Costa Rica, including but not limited to localsoda restaurantsandtouristy restaurants;hotel lobbiesandon-site restaurants; cafesandbakeries;andcoffee roasteriesandplantations.If you’re curious about the process of coffee production, consider reserving a Costa Rica coffee tour. Not only will you be treated to a cup (or more) of coffee, but you’ll learn where and how coffee is grown; how beans are picked and processed; how coffee types and flavors differ; and so much more.
Tea(té)in Costa Rica is largely overshadowed by the country’s love of coffee. But if you’re not a coffee drinker, tea is a decent fallback option. You won’t find a ton of tea variety there, but you can usually gette manzania(“chamomile tea”),te verde(“green tea”),te negro(“black tea”), andte de menta(“mint tea”) at grocery stores, restaurants, and hotels without problem.
If you prefer your tea served cold and sweet, there’s good news. Costa Rican restaurants serve iced tea(té frio). Likerefrescos gaseosos(“gaseous refreshments”) /bebidas gaseosas(“gaseous drink”), most Costa Rican restaurants don’t prepare iced tea from syrup concentrates like fast food establishments do, so if you order até frio,you’ll likely be given a bottle of the drink. Alternatively, the bottle may be poured into a glass for you. Several companies in Costa Rica produce iced tea drinks, but the most popular isTropical.Its lineup includes regularté frio, té frio con melocoton(“peach flavored iced tea”),té frio con té verde manzana(“green apple flavored iced tea”), andté frio con limon(“lime flavored iced tea”).
If you’re a fan of Kombucha (fermented tea), you’ll find it at trendy and health-conscious restaurants at popular beach destinations likeTamarindo, Nosara, Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Playas del Coco, Jaco, and Manuel Antonio,among others.
What alcoholic drinks to try while in Costa Rica?
Cerveza.Are you a beer drinker? If so, you’ll be pleased to know that liquor stores and grocery stores throughout Costa Rica are regularly stocked with cerveza (“beer”). Costa Rica’s bestselling beer, Imperial, is an American-style lager that’s well-loved by many North American visitors. It’s also the face of beer in Costa Rica; Imperial ads are plastered across billboards, commercials roll on televisions, and the brand sponsors tons of events yearly, including the country’s biggest party in Pavones. On a more serious note, Imperial is a water positive beer, which makes it a great choice for eco-conscious travelers. If you’re calorie-conscious, try “Imperial Light.” Pilsen, Costa Rica’s older, bolder, and more bitter-tasting beer, is the favorite of some Ticos. It’s comprised of 5.1% alcohol content, which is boozier than Imperial at 4.5%. Other beer, including Bavaria, Rock Ice, and popular imports like Budweiser and Corona are also sold in Costa Rica, though to a lesser extent. Gaining popularity over the past decade are craft beer creations. Several microbreweries exist around the nation, and their brews are often featured at bars and restaurants in beach towns and San Jose.
Chicha.Typically consumed by members of Indigenous communities in Costa Rica is the fermented drink chicha. Offering a taste similar to beer, chicha is an inexpensive alcohol most commonly made with rice, corn, or pineapple in Costa Rica.
Guaro.Guaro is Costa Rica’s signature spirit. Produced from sugarcane, it’s slightly sweet, but otherwise tastes like a cheap vodka. As one of the least expensive liquors you can buy in Costa Rica, guaro flies off the shelf. The highest quality guaro you can get in Costa Rica is produced by the Cacique brand (look for Cacique Superior, which has a black label instead of a red label, if you want the brand’s best product). Despite its prestige, Cacique guaro still comes cheap. You’ll probably find any kind of guaro too unpleasant to drink on its own (though plenty of people take shots of the stuff) but you may enjoy it mixed in a co*cktail. Guaro sours, which offer a twist on whiskey sours, are a popular choice. Chiliguaros spice things up: they include mandarin lime, Tabasco sauce, and salt, and can be consumed as a co*cktail or a shot. Other alcoholic orders tend to include guaro, namely because its such an inexpensive liquor to serve.
Costa Rican Coffee and Hot Cocoa Gift Set (Corporate Gifts) to Costa-Rica
When they deserve the best in flavor, send them a gift that will make their taste buds tingle and brighten their morning as well. Family, friends, and business associates are going to appreciate your fine taste when you present them with a collection of Costa Rican Coffees that is sure to make their mouth water. They’ll perk up in the morning with cups of rich, aromatic coffee from Doka Estate’s Three Generations Collection; as the name suggests, these growers have perfected the family craft of coffee over three generations to provide your recipient with the most luxurious coffee the hills can provide. Certified with the Rainforest Alliance, Doka Estates not only brings you a great cup of coffee, they’re environment friendly as well. Your lucky recipient will indulge in an assortment of four bags of Coffee chosen from the following flavors: House Blend, French Roast, Espresso, Peaberry, and Decaf. They’ll also indulge in two tins of Cafe Britt Gourmet Hot Chocolate chosen from the following flavors: Milk Chocolate, Cinnamon, Caramel, Raspberry, and Mint. Whether you’re welcoming them to a new home, congratulating them on a promotion, celebrating a birthday, or just reminding them you care, Costa Rican Coffee and Hot Cocoa Gift Set is an ideal offering for any occasion
Traditional Costa Rican Foods for Health and Longevity
In rural Costa Rica, as in many places where home-grown foods play a key role in the everyday diet, people are very knowledgeable about the plants they grow and how the leaves, nuts, fruits, and other parts of the plant can be used for medicinal purposes.
We’re especially interested in which foods Costa Ricans consume because it’s the home of Nicoya, one of the original blue zones and the longest living people in the Americas. Nicoya is an 80-mile peninsula just north of the Nicaraguan border. It’s not far from the U.S., but people there are twice as likely to live to reach 90 than Americans. So, it makes perfect sense to take a closer look at some of the foods that they use medicinally to learn more about the nutrients they contain and the potential benefits of adding them to your diet. Here are five medicinal foods that make it into the Costa Rican diet on a regular basis that you might want to try.
Chan Seeds
Chan seeds are triangular black seeds used widely throughout Costa Rica and other parts of Central and South America. They are similar to chia seeds but come from a different plant — the Hyptis suaveolens that’s native to Central America.
The seeds are often soaked and then served in beverages, like Lemonade with Chan Seeds, a recipe from Dan Buettner’s cookbook,The Blue Zones Kitchen. Due to its mucilage content, chan seeds are used for digestive health and for relieving issues like constipation and indigestion. Chan seeds are also high in magnesium, which has been associated with lowering blood pressure.
Chan seeds are excellent to use in herbal tea, like ourBlue Zones Nicoya Chan and Lemongrass Tea. This delicate tea is inspired by the Nicoyan centenarians’ gardens and made with herbs native to the Nicoya Peninsula. It’s great for relieving stress and even headaches. In addition to the health benefits of the chan, lemongrass is another herb that Costa Ricans love for its lemony aroma, antioxidants, and antimicrobial properties.
Lemon Verbena
Lemon verbena or lippia alba, known in Costa Rica as juanilama, has been used for thousands of years by indigenous people in both Central and South America as a medicinal herb. Like chan seeds, it’s also known for soothing the digestive tract. But it’s also used as asomatic, sedative, antidepressant, and for its analgesic properties. It’s thought to aid in promoting healthy muscle tissue, reducing inflammation, boosting the immune system, soothing nerves, and clearing up congestion.
The essential oil of lemon verbena contains antioxidant compounds, used in supplements in pill form in the U.S., or the leaves can be dried and steeped for use in herbal teas to control appetite to aid in weight loss. OurBlue Zones Nicoya Lippia Alba and Hibiscus Teais an excellent natural diuretic that combines the expectorant and antimicrobial properties of lemon verbena with the high antioxidant content of hibiscus.
The worldwide medical community has begun to become more interested in researching the potential health benefits of lemon verbena in recent years. Among the findings in clinical studies, lemon verbena has been shown toreduce inflammation, hypertension, and muscle damage after exercise.
Culantro Coyote
Culantro coyote, also known as fitweed and Mexican coriander, is an herb related to cilantro that’s used widely in the Nicoyan diet, as well as many other parts of the world, though little known in the U.S.
Although it’s related to cilantro, culantro looks very different. It has long, serrated leaves compared to the tiny delicate leaves of cilantro. It is also much more pungent than cilantro and unlike cilantro, which has a stronger flavor and smell when fresh, the flavor and aroma of culantro grows stronger when it’s cooked.
In Costa Rica, culantro is consumed often in soups, stews, and many other dishes. In theBlue Zones Kitchen, Dan features a number of Nicoyan recipes that use culantro coyote, including Yuca cakes, Black Bean and Potato Soup, Creamy Butternut Squash Soup, Veggie Hash with Corn and Onion, and others.
The leaves of the culantro plant are also chewed, much like parsley, to get rid of bad breath. Adding culantro to the diet is thought to have many health benefits, fromlowering inflammation in brain cells to reduce neurodegenerative diseaseslike Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, toreducing pain and relieving asthma symptoms. It contains Vitamin B2 that’s known to aid in liver function and lowering blood glucose levels.
Cassia Grandis Honey
Costa Ricans make a delicious natural syrup, without sugar, using the substance found in the pods of the Cassia grandis or Carao tree, which grows from southern Mexico to South America. The syrup is also known as Cassia grandis honey. It’s used as a natural sweetener and also mixed with milk for a refreshing beverage that’s easy on the stomach.
Cassia grandis honey helps to relieve anemic states due to iron deficiency and strengthens bones and teeth. OurBlue Zones Nicoya Nutricaraonatural syrup (Cassia grandis honey) is a great source of energy for physical exercise and a nutritious complement for daily consumption. It provides all the benefits available from the exotic Cassia grandis honey and also contains aloe vera which helps aid digestion. It’s 100% natural, gluten-free, and GMO-free. It contains no added sugars, artificial flavors, or colors.
Our syrup is thick and a red-brownish color and is sweet and robust with notes of brown sugar and molasses. We recommend taking two tablespoons with each of your meals three times per day, or you can also add two tablespoons to smoothies, shakes, or oatmeal.
Our Blue Zones Nicoya products and proceeds support the centenarian community of Nicoya, Costa Rica. At the same time,Blue Zones Nicoyahas its production facilities in the area, which in turn provide direct and indirect jobs to the community. Blue Zones Nicoya also develops the Macaw Project, which helps reinsert Macaw populations to the Nicoya Peninsula.
Hearts of Palm
Nutrient-dense and low fat, hearts of palm come from the inner core and growing bud of certain types of palm trees, including coconut, palmetto, jucara, and others. Hearts of palm are crunchy like asparagus, look much like artichoke stalks without the tips, and have a flavor that’s similar to that of artichoke hearts.
Costa Ricans eat hearts of palm fresh in salads or cooked, and either way, they’re easy to prepare, according to Dan Buettner’s cookbook. It includes recipes for using hearts of palm both ways. It’s used raw in Hearts of Palm Ceviche, a fishless ceviche which is part of the traditional lunch of Costa Ricans and which Dan proclaimed in the book to be his favorite Costa Rican dish. In another recipe for Hearts of Palm Picadillo, the hearts of palm are sautéed along with onions, cilantro, and other ingredients.
Hearts of palm are rich in minerals including potassium which helps toregulate blood pressure, copper, and iron to promote healthy blood cells and regulate cholesterol, phosphorus for strong bones and teeth, and zinc to boost the immune system.
In addition, hearts of palm are an excellent source of polyphenol antioxidants, which neutralize free radicals which damage cells. Antioxidants not only reduce inflammation, but also can lower the risk of getting diseases like cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. This dense stalk vegetable is also used to regulate weight because it’s low in fat and calories, yet high in fiber and water content. If you’d like to try hearts of palm and can’t find it fresh in your specialty foods market, it can be found jarred and canned in most grocery stores.
