Birthday Celebration

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After rising early this morning and barely recognizing ourselves in the mirror (we look sooooo much younger after our mud treatment) we headed, in the pouring rain to "Down to Earth" which is a little coffee shop owned and operated by Matias, who also grows his own coffee. We were going on a tour of his farm. When we got there we were in a group of 6. There was a couple from Arkansas and another from Austria. Matias began by giving us a thorough lesson on our misconceptions about coffee. He walked us through how beans grown at higher elevations are of a harder, smaller quality. Aahhh, size is not important and bigger is not always better. He tutuored us in the density of beans, the texture, smells, and taste. The fact that he was such a well-spoken man with a wonderful sense of humour made for a most enjoyable experience. We examined beans, made predictions based on our coffee mindsets and did taste tests. After 45 minutes at the cafe we then piled into a tourist bus and headed for his farm. Most of his production is in the highlands but he also has this small farm where the actual roasting occurs. Once we were there he lead us through the rows of coffee bushes where we picked red berries. We opened them up to find the coffee bean inside. We sucked on the bean and enjoyed the sweetness of it. We then were given shovels and each got to plant a coffee bush. From there we headed into the production building where he walked us through, step by step, the roasting process. Everything from temperature to moisture control is very important. We loaded up 3 buckets with green coffee beans and the men put them into the top of the huge roaster which is really a big convection oven. The temperature is very important. We would take various samples from the machine at different intervals and examine the colour, aroma, and size of the beans. This whole process took about 45 minutes and we watched as the beans went from green, to yellow, to brown, to dark chocolate in colour. In the yellow stage it smells just like wet hay! Once the beans had achieved that perfect smell and appearance Curtis got to open the door and the beans were then emptied into a large centrifuge. At this point they spin around. Matias put some in my hand and they were burning hot but then after about 90 seconds they were cool when he placed them in my hadn and we could even eat them! They were then put into a large rubbermaid tub and covered for about 2 minutes. Matias then removed the lid and our senses were overtaken by the most incredible aromatic coffee! Each couple then chose how many bags of coffee they would like to take home. This was such an incredible experience made richer by the fact that we are actually bringing home the highest quality of Costa Rican coffee, roasted by ourselves! We soon piled on the tourist bus and he took us back to the cafe. The young couple from Austria, AnnaMarie and Roland were so adorable and we spent alot of time chatting with them. We asked where they lived in Austria and, lo and behold, they said "Vienna". We told them were were coming to Vienna in May and they were so excited and asked that we meet up with them so they could show us the best sights! We exchanged emails and bid them farewell until May.

By this time the sun had broken through the clouds and it was a very hot and humid walk back but the smell of fresh coffee wafting from the bags gave us some oral caffeine!

After an afternoon siesta the ladies arrived to clean our room. We went over to the communal area until they were finished. What a wonderful surprise when we opened our door! There on the bed was a fanatastic birthday display in recognition of Curtis' Cumpleanos! The petals spelled out Happy Birthday, pink notes were written with handwritten messages saying, "Happy Birthday" and "Feliz Cumpleanos", and it was all topped off with a small bottle of champagne.

We headed out to Garra-Pata for Curtis' birthday celebration. Now this is the same restaurant I raved about yesterday at lunch. We assumed we had met the owner, who was a friend of Anthony, our hotel owner. We arrived at the restaurant and indeed, Jose was there in his white apron and black chef's cap. He greeted us warmly and with a gigantic smile. Then another, robust man appeared and welcomed us, speaking very fluent English. Hmmm, maybe this was Anthony's friend? Israel soon brought us two very large glasses of wine. He asked Curtis if he liked steak and then proceeded to bring out the different cuts that they cooked, describing each in detail. At Israel's recommendation he chose a ribeye steak with mushroom sauce. I decided upon tilapia and he asked, "Do you like avocado?". I assured him I did and the order was placed. He then asked us something that we were not quite sure about but simply responded "Si". This was truly the right answer as not long after a platter with tortilla chips (which are nothing like the ones offered in Canada) and a long dish with what looked like onion, red peppers, cilantro and juice. We scooped it onto our chips. The taste that attacked our palate was out of this world! Now, never in this lifetime would I order raw fish but that is exactly what this was - ceviche. The typical Costa Rican dish of diced raw fish, red pepper, onion, cilantro which is all marinated in lime juice. We couldn't get enough of this delectable dish. There was not one part of it that tasted like raw fish and we enjoyed every tantalizing bite. Soon dinner arrived and with the first bite we knew that this place was a hidden gem. Curtis' steak melted in your mouth and my tilapia was scruptiously slathered in avocado. We took our time with our meal, enjoying the explosions of flavour with every bite. During dinnner we were entertained by a program on the television that showed a Costa Rican soccer game that was played in a round stadium but with an added twist - there was a bull in the game! As the game was being played the team was constantly on the lookout for the bull which would chase them around. It was crazy!!! After dinner, Israel offered us some Costa Rican "moonshine". This stuff was lethal! You would not want to light a match around and I am pretty sure that when I shower in the morning I will notice hair on my chest! We were invited to come back to the grill as they cooked two very large tenderloins for a neighbourhood party. Just before we left Israel then poured us some concoction made of chiles. It looked like tabasco. We raised our glassed with Israel and tossed it back! It was firewater indeed. We thanked him and Jose profusely and headed back to our hotel. It was such an amazing night sitting among the Ticos in a very local neighborhood and having one the best meals we have ever had! :

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