Confession time: You’re here for the coffee, right?
‘Tis true – when you visit Finca Rosa Blanca, chances are good that you’re here (at least in part) for the coffee. After all, Costa Rica is famous for its Arabica and Finca Rosa Blanca offers one of the country’s best: hard-bean, high-altitude organic coffee, roasted to perfection and brewed to frothy glory.
Most of our guests – yes, even the ones who don’t self-identify as coffee addicts! – take us up on our offer of an Organic Coffee Tour and Cupping Session. It’s just one of those quintessential, must-experience moments of your Costa Rican vacation. You wouldn’t go to Paris without ordering a croissant and you can’t come to Costa Rica without sipping our coffee.
So, it’s safe to say that coffee is a given. But, what you may not know is that we also offer the perfect pairing to your coffee tour: our Coffee Connoisseur’s Tasting Menu.
But First, A Brief Aside
At Finca Rosa Blanca, we are always delighted to welcome guests to our farm-to-table restaurant, El Tigre Vestido. El Tigre Vestido focuses on Latin fusion and balanced Costa Rican cuisine, inspired by the richness of our own harvests and coffee farm.
Every day, our team visits our greenhouse, orchard and organic gardens to select the freshest ingredients and infuse authentic flavor into each dish.
Every day, our menu changes just a bit – just enough to accommodate what’s blooming, fruiting and ready for harvest.
And every day, we brew some of Costa Rica’s tastiest coffee.
But, more on all that in another post. We know you’re here for the Tasting Menu.
Meet Our Chef
Over the years, we thought we had sipped, sampled and savored coffee in all its many iterations.
Then, our talented chef redefined our understanding of “all” and vastly expanded our coffee repertoire. He has that special quality – an haute sensibility without the haute attitude. He is a true culinary historian and food philosopher, honoring the culinary traditions of Mesoamerica and crafting menus from only the freshest ingredients, accented by foraged and ancient elements. His resulting creations are a true highlight of the guest experience at Finca Rosa Blanca.
This philosophy stands at the heart of our new Coffee Connoisseur’s Tasting Menu: Fresh ingredients, sourced from our organic gardens; delicious Finca Rosa Blanca coffee, grown and roasted onsite; and ancient culinary traditions, traced through our Mesoamerican past and updated for the modern palate.
As Chef explains, “While developing our current Coffee Connoisseur’s Tasting Menu, I wanted to focus on two main priorities: Rescuing Mesoamerican and Costa Rican culinary traditions, many of which have been nearly lost, while simultaneously innovating the relationship between coffee and cuisine. And, of course, my ultimate goal was to create a Tasting Menu as enjoyable as it is distinctive.”
Finca Rosa Blanca’s Coffee Connoisseur’s Tasting Menu
Tasting menus are an exercise in trust: Put your dining experience into the chef’s hands and then, enjoy the journey.
Our Coffee Connoisseur’s Tasting Menu invites you to experience a multitude of culinary transformations, both savory and sweet – and sometimes, both at once. A journey, it truly is.
And, here’s an interesting tidbit: You don’t have to be a coffee enthusiast (or even a coffee drinker) to enjoy this menu. Quick anecdote: My husband, who has had a total of one cup of coffee in his life, raves about this menu. One of his favorites, “ever.” And you can quote him on that. I’d chime in, but my mouth is still engaged in rapture over the coffee-chocolate-cashew mole sauce…
Anyway.
We don’t want to spoil it for you, so we thought we’d give you just a taste of the Coffee Connoisseur’s Tasting Menu – a little nibble to spark your interest. Because, this is a meal best left to the chef and the element of surprise.
Truth be told, we’d recommend ignoring the menu and enjoying your culinary journey, as it is presented. Your server will explain each course as it comes out and, time permitting, our chef will join you for an explanation of his inspirations.
Here’s what we will tell you: There are five (or more) courses, each based on an ancient recipe or tradition, updated for today and infused with coffee something.
It could be honey, sourced from bees that pollinate our coffee fields; it could be coffee liquor, coaxed into startling preparations; or it could even be coffee itself, innovated in a way you’ve never experienced. Whatever it is, we can tell you that it will be delicious.
Finca Rosa Blanca’s Coffee Connoisseur’s menu is available for lunch or dinner, with 24-hour advance reservation. All courses may be adapted for dietary restrictions or allergies. (Please indicate any restrictions upon reservation.)
