Sweet Aroma of Coffee

A Culinary Tour of Costa Rica by Poets Jorge Chen Sham and Julieta Dobles

Abstract

Contemporary Costa Rican poets Jorge Chen Sham and Julieta Dobles Yzaguirre take the reader on a journey through Costa Rica, painting the nature, customs, and idiosyncrasy of the Tico through the presentation of places, sensations, and typical foods of the country. Among the latter, coffee is a central product in the Costa Rican historical and cultural identity. Chen Sham devotes the poem «Freshly Brewed Coffee in Cervantes» to this delicious drink in his collection Por Costa Rica de viaje: sus trípticos (2015), while Dobles invites us to taste it in «Aromas of Coffee» in her book Costa Rica poema a poema: un recorrido por el alma secreta de la patria (1997). This article explores cultural and social aspects of coffee consumption in this Central American country by analyzing these two poems by Chen Sham and Dobles.