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Chinese Prefer Costa
Rican Coffee
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Chinese Prefer Costa
Rican Coffee
One of the benefits
resulting from the
diplomatic ties between
Costa Rica and China are
an increase in coffee
sales as the Chinese
have expressed an
interest in increasing
the purchase of Costa
Rican coffee to meet the
growing demands back
home.
To that end, a Chinese
delegation has already
paid a visit to the
Instituto del Café de
Costa Rica (Icafe) to
understand the
production process of
the coffee industry.
The man in charge of the
Chinese delegation and
the future Chinese
ambassador to Costa
Rica, ang Xiaoyuan, has
met with Icafe's
president, Ronald Peter,
to discuss increased
purchases for this year,
saying that Costa Rican
coffee is one of the
best in the world.
Since the announcement
of diplomatic ties
between Costa Rica and
China last month, there
has been as strong
interest by the Chinese
to purchase Costa Rican
products.
Wang said that there
will be an increase of
the purchase of Costa
Rican coffee beans this
year, saying that the
Chinese culture of using
coffee for medicinal
purpose is being changed
by the younger
generation who is
consuming more coffee.
In 2006, China consume
some 50,000 tonnes of
coffee mainly imported
from Colombia, Brazil,
Kenya and Vietnam.
Costa Rica coffee ranks
second in agricultural
exports which for the
first five months of
this year was us$200
million dollars.
Adding to the benefit of
purchasing Costa Rican
coffee is the fact that
Chinese tariffs on
coffee imports was
reduced from 10.4$ to
8%.
The news of China buying
Costa Rican coffee after
it broke diplomatic ties
with Taiwan has caused
concern of other coffee
producing nations,
threatened by the
quality and prestige of
Costa Rican coffee
around the world.
Guatemala and El
Salvador are, for
example, two countries
who are keeping a close
eye on the Costa Rica -
China relationship as it
could adversely affect
their economies.
Christian Rasch,
president of the
Asociación Nacional de
Café de Guatemala, says
that an alliance between
Costa Rica and China
could have negative
repercussions for the
Guatemalan coffee
industry.
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The
taste of coffee
The coffee brewing method traditionally
used in Costa Rica is said to have come
from the "biggin" system which was
widely used during the Victorian era in
England and Holland during the
eighteenth century.
It was a very simple concept: a cloth
bag containing the ground coffee and
held by a metal ring was placed in a
metal
container that was used as a coffee
pot". |
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