What items should be bought in Costa Rica?

Question

We are traveling to Costa Rica and would like to know what items we should look for as gifts to bring back with us.

Answer 1

I agree with everyone on the coffee.  There are also  fine leather goods, purses, luggage  ect, all nicely crafted.  In San Jose at the "Marcado Central", (Central Market), you will find  lots of great souvenir  items.  My 1 st trip I bought traditional outfits for the kids>>>  skirts & blouses set   white trimmed in rickrack  the girls loved them.  There's lots of original art works  and wood carvings too.  The indiginous  Indian tribes  make dolls, hand woven strawish hats, hand woven purses,  and the list goes on & on & on

Answer 2

Coffee

Cafe Rica (a coffee liqueur)

Those coffee makers (forgot what they're called) but in Costa Rica they make their coffee using a sack that drains into a cup.

Cigars

I bought Chicas cookies. I love those things...

Costa Rica also has a sauce that's really good. Also can't remember the name off the top of my head but it's in all the restaurants. I wish I had bought more bottles.

Answer 3

A traditional Costa Rican Coffee maker! Seen often in the Guanacaste region.  Can seem to find a picture online to link to...

Answer 4

Definitly the coffee is a good souvineir.  They make coffee liquor too, which is very yummy :-)

Costa Rica has these coffee makers that are actually just a piece of cloth that you put the coffee grounds in that is suspended above your cup with a wooden stand.  Then you pour boiling water over the grounds and coffee comes out right into your cup.  Every person living there uses it instead of a regular coffee maker.  It is very common.  And it makes a fun gift!  You can find them at most tourist shops.

If you are into alcohol, they sell a liquor there called Cachaca.  It is actually a Brazillian liquor.  Made from sugar cane.  You can only find it in Central and South America.  Then the official Costa Rican beer is Imperial.  I brought some of that home for my guy friends.  And if they like dark beer, there is Bavaria Negra.  Yum :-)

Answer 5

Coffee is the most important thing.  Unless you want decaf, there are local good alternatives to Cafe Britt.  There are a lot of things made of tropical woods as well that are of interest.  There is one community that makes the Chorotega pottery that is quite interesting.  That's all that I can think of.