Every coffee lover is well acquainted with coffee shops, where coffee drinking enhances all kind of different activities: business deals, writing, romance, reading, or plain chatting with friends are all best accomplished when the aroma and taste of good coffee fills the ambiance.
Coffee-houses were first established in England in 1652. At first, coffee-houses were a popular meeting point in which coffee, tea or chocolate were served, but no alcoholic beverages.
Eventually, coffee houses spread throughout Europe (in Italy, the Cafetines de San Marcos became quite popular), and later developed into upper-class clubs, each with an exclusive kind of clientele: writers, priests, nobles, politicians, ship owners and marine underwriters. As Heinrich Jacob puts it in his book The Saga of Coffee: "…coffee-houses… were meeting-points between literature and economics, were the posting-stations at which mental discontent rubbed shoulders with material."
Coffee-houses that were open to all came to be called coffee shops, keeping its original purpose as social centers. Today, the tradition is still alive, and cafes, coffee shops and Internet coffee stations are open to millions of coffee lovers throughout the world.
In Costa Rica, being coffee one of the three major industries, coffee shops are a real treat to your body and mind. Cappuccino, expresso, café latté, black coffee, coffee liquors, iced coffee, coffee ice cream, coffee shakes, plus a delicious list of sweet treats and snacks are more than attractive to city dwellers.
Some coffee shops go one step further by providing clients with an entertaining explanation on how coffee is produced and processed, and what is the perfect way to brew a delicious gourmet cup of coffee. La Esquina del Café, downtown San José, is a great example, where not only do you learn about coffee, but where they brew your own cup right at your table.
Internet coffee stations are also spreading here in San José. Browsing the Internet just isn't the same without the steaming aroma of great coffee.
Costa Rican Coffee 
