Costa Rica - coffee - best brands and prices?

[snorkelman]

I have read some posts about buying souvenirs and comments about coffee, but I have not found a post asking my specific question, so if one exists, please direct me to it and I apologize for not finding it myself.

I am not a coffee drinker, but I have read that coffee is one of the good things to buy while in Costa Rica. I figure that I may as well buy some for gifts for friends who like coffee, but I am clueless as to what amount I should spend and what size bags I should buy. Should I buy coffee beans or coffee that is already ground, or is there no such option?

So, please tell me what are the top two or three brands of coffee and what price I can expect to pay (and the corresponding bag-size) when I am in Costa Rica.

I will be on the Carnival Liberty at the beginning of October and it stops in Limon. I am not sure which excursion we will do, so I may have to buy the coffee at the pier (which I assume is more expensive than in a grocery store). Any particular vender at the pier which is “known†for good deals on coffee?

Another option is buying the coffee in the ship (if it is even available).

Again, I am clueless about coffee, so I only want to buy it if it will be appreciated as a gift and if it is a killer deal for me.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Ted_D]

There are many good Costa Rican coffees, but Cafe Brit is the best known and widely available. You can probably buy it via your ship, but the prices right on the dock are better. It is pricey compared to US grocery store coffee, but worth it in taste. We last paid about $5 per pound. Just be careful to examine the bags for expiration dates. It is fairly common for some of the vendors to be selling outdated coffee. Both beans and ground varieties are available. I am lazy, so I go for the ground ones, but there is no accounting for individual taste.

A second Costa Rican coffee we have bought is Tres Rios, which is slightly less expensive than Cafe Brit and just as good in my opinion.

Don't even think about going into the town of Limon to a grocery store by yourself. It is like the wild west once you leave the protected dock area. And, the town is really nothing but an industrial area anyway.

Ted