Coffee suggestions

[lina1]

Our cruise is stopping in Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama and Columbia.

I would like to buy some coffee in each port. Are there certain blends or types that are not easy to find back home. What would be your recommendation and why?

[Azulann]

Yes, home grown coffee will be everywhere.
I love, love coffee. I grind my beans every morning. I always bring coffee back when I travel to Central America or Mexico.

I look for freshness of the beans. If you tour a coffee plantation that would be a great place to buy coffee. I always look for a coffee cooperative, or second best ,a local coffee shop that will sell me beans.
Lat year in Huatulco, Mexico we watch as they roasted the beans we would buy from a local cooperative.
Try not to buy coffee in a grocery store or any tourist shop that sells other things.

Enjoy your coffee both on the trip and when you get home. Love beans from this area. But my all time favorite is Papua New Guinea beans, hard to get here in MN.

[Northern Aurora]

Last April we were in Antigua, Guatemala and bought two pounds of Cafe Antigueno -- lovely! We gave one pound to a friend who was checking our house, and kept the other for us.

[lamchops]

Originally Posted by lina1

Our cruise is stopping in Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama and Columbia.

I would like to buy some coffee in each port. Are there certain blends or types that are not easy to find back home. What would be your recommendation and why?

Make sure the coffee you buy is "Arabica" coffee. It means they were grown at altitude and of high quality.

[kestrel]

Our cruise did not include Columbia, where I assume they have excellent coffee

Among the other 3 places you've mentioned, I found Guatemala has the best coffee. (Of course this is subjective.) We bought some beans from a coffee store in Antigua, and they were excellent.

[travelbig]

I have bought coffee in Costa Rica and Columbia. The coffee from Columbia was weak, then I read somewhere that Columbia exports their best coffee. In Costa Rica I bought my coffee in a grocery store where the selection was great. The coffee was wonderful and the price was very good. The stores will take USD but you will get their change back.