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Costa Rica offer as much variety in its beverages as its cuisines, which mainly comprises of rice, black or red beans and plantains. Since there are two coffee breaks in a e typical meals of breakfast, lunch and dinner in Costa Rica, Ticos enjoy them either with coffee or other drinks. In Costa Rica, you will find beverages ranging from tea and coffee to beer and wines.
The morning begins with traditional breakfast drink called Agua Dulce (sweet water). It is made from tapa de dulce. Sugar cane juice is boiled down in traditional trapiches and put to solidify in molds in the form of conical sections with the top cut off called tapas, which can literally be translated into Lids. Then some of this tapa is scraped off and dissolved into boiling water or milk to make the sweet agua dulce.
Coffee is usually served at breakfast and during traditional coffee breaks in the afternoon, i.e., around 3:00pm. For the morning coffee break, people have coffee with French bread with butter. The afternoon coffee break comprises of just coffee with a pastry. Some of the best brands of coffee in Costa Rica are Café Britt, Café Rey and Café 1820.
Granizado (slush drink made of finely shaved ice and flavored syrup) is a popular drink in Costa Rica. The most popular flavor is Kola, which is not the usual carbonated cola drink but a fruity cherry like syrup. It is sometimes served with evaporated or condensed milk on top.
Refrescos (cold fruit drinks) are usually made with fresh fruit and milk or water. Among the fruits commonly used for making refrescos are mangoes, papayas, blackberries (mora) and pineapples (piña) while passion fruit (maracuyá) and carambola are also used at times. Some of the more unusual frescos are Horchata (made with rice flour and a lot of cinnamon) and Chan (made with the seed of a plant found mostly in Guanacaste). One should also try Agua de Pipa (coconut water) available mostly around the beach areas. Cas is a local produced drink made from a type of guava known as the Cas Guava.
Costa Rica distills a wide variety of liquors and the national liquor is Guaro, made from sugar cane. The primary producer of Guaro is Cacique and the liquor is similar to rum. Ticos drink Guaro as a shot or at times mixed with mineral water, soft drink, juice or soda. The cost of Guaro is very cheap compared to the Cerveza (beer) in Costa Rica. The Café Britt and Salicsa brands produce a couple of types of coffee-based liqueurs. Café Rica is similar to Kahlúa and quite good. You can also find delicious cream-style coffee liqueurs.
The German presence in Costa Rica over the years has produced several fine beers, which are fairly inexpensive. Most Costa Rican beers are light pilsners. Imperial (an American style lager) is the most popular beer. The Pilsen is a bohemian style pilsner while Bavaria is offered in Light, Dark or Gold. Licensed local versions of Heineken (Dutch Beer) and Rock Ice are also available.
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