Panamanian franchise NaciónSushi will inaugurate its first restaurant in Costa Rica, located in Escazú Village, this Saturday, April 1st . With a strong investment of $600,000.00 USD this restaurant generated 25 direct jobs. The location is divided in five different spaces, Tail Lounge, Vietnam (bar and dining room), La Central and El Callejón Tokio, the open terrace completes the concept. O...

You don't have to travel far this Saturday to experience cultures, food and celebrations from around the world. Tucked away right near downtown Santa Ana on the verdant campus of United World College Costa Rica or Colegio del Mundo Unido Costa Rica, the annual UWC Festival will have something for everyone to enjoy. From guitar and funk music, to food for sale, dances from all over the world,...

Costa Rica’s iconic dairy brand, Dos Pinos, just announced a new "helado" with a unique Costa Rican twist: Guayabita ice cream. But, don’t get too excited, the product still needs a month or so before it hits the shelves, said Dos Pinos. Since the company’s acquisition late last year of the Costa Rican candy company, Gallito, consumers have wondered what the buy-out might have in store as fa...

As we grow older it is safe to say that our preferences and taste changes, we are more aware of what we enjoy and we are spending our own money so we become more demanding, the crowded bar with very loud music, people spilling drinks and picking fights might no longer sound like fun; instead a nice bar with a good service and a good selection of food and drinks may be our preferred choice. The ...

Florida Ice and Farm Company (Fifco) announced the commercialization in Costa Rica of a beer produced by the Costa Rican company in their U.S.A. subsidiary North American Breweries (NAB), Genesse is a lager beer with a 4.5% alcohol volume and has a light flavor. According to their press release, Genesee is one of the most important brands for their USA division, it was created 139 years ago in ...

In light of the country’s growing deficit and difficulties in funding its public budget, Costa Rica’s treasury is working on a number of fronts to tighten up controls and increase accurate tax payments throughout the country. As part of this effort, they teamed up with the Agriculture and Livestock Ministry (MAG) to provide local governments with a tool that will allow them to enforce Law No. 9...

  Costa Rican pineapples obtained the green light to be sold in the Chinese market, announced Costa Rica’s Ministry of Foreign Trade (COMEX) yesterday. There are currently at least 20 companies interested in exporting pineapples to China. Dialogue with China on the possibility of exporting pineapple from Costa Rican began in 2010 when the pineapple sector expressed an interest in export...

The Board of Directors of the Costa Rican Fisheries and Aquaculture Institute (Incopesca) announced today they would limit granting permits for tuna fishing in 2017 as a provisional measure while they implement a new model to better regulate the activity. The Costa Rican Presidency announced that the management model for the tuna industry is being reformulated in order to achieve a better balan...

Traffic look bad, too hot to go out, or want to order in for a company meeting? Eateries and grocery stores are beating traffic to reach more people in their homes and offices with expanded express delivery services, reported the companies this week. Quiznos, with 31 outlets in Costa Rica, and Teriyaki, with seven, recently implemented express delivery in the areas surrounding Lindora near S...

- Only 5 percent of the tuna caught in Costa Rican waters is hauled in by local boats. Data from a recent study by the non-profit marine conservation foundation, MarViva, shows Costa Rica lagging behind in the tuna fishery industry, a resource that could aid struggling coastal economies. “At a time when the fisheries sector is in crisis, the country's fishing resources must be managed in a sci...

A special event for wine lovers will take place for the first time in Costa Rica, more specifically in Campo Lago, San Antonio de Belén, Heredia, May 6th and 7th. Showcasing a wide range of wine bottles,  the Wine World Festival will have wine tasting, special offers,  shows, family entertainment, food trucks, kids’ corner and daycare,  wine cocktails, cooking classes, and general information o...

Workers today in northern Costa Rica may make history with a first collective bargaining agreement on a pineapple farm. Costa Rica’s Labor Ministry is alert to a strike that initiated today at 3:00 a.m. by workers at the Santa Fe pineapple plantation in the far northern town of Los Chiles, said Gerald Valverde Santos, spokesman for the Private Sector Workers Union (Sitrasep, its acronym in Span...

This week, the U.S. company DineEquity announced plans to open at least 10 International House of Pancakes (IHOP) brand restaurants in Costa Rica as part of its growth plan in Latin America, said Costa Rica’s business daily El Financiero. The brand’s international growth has mainly focused on increasing the number of restaurants in existing markets and, at the same time, entering three new mark...

Starbucks Coffee Company announced that it will develop a visitor’s center at its coffee farm, Hacienda Alsacia, on the slopes of Poás volcano, about 30 minutes from the international airport in Alajuela, Costa Rica. The center will begin receiving tourists in 2018. Since the purchase of the 240-hectare farm in March 2013, Starbucks has run it as a typical coffee plantation, and in doing so, ha...

— The application is available for iOS and Android. Wondering when your local organic farmer's market is open, or want to visit an organic farm on an upcoming road trip in Costa Rica? A new App might help. The Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) announced earlier this month the launch of "Cr Organic", a free App that allows consumers to directly contact organic producers without intermedia...

There are many restaurants in Costa Rica, but the selection of vegan and vegetarian options, although it has increased in the last few years, is still limited. Some regular restaurants have incorporated a couple of dishes in their menu for people that follow a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle, but these are the least. There are, however, a few alternatives where vegans and vegetarians can enjoy a won...

The World Trade Organization (WTO) stated today that Mexico had requested consultations with Costa Rica as, allegedly, this country unlawfully imposed a restriction on Mexican avocado imports. The measures that Mexico considers restrictive are the checks, inspections, and approval procedures for the importation of the fruit. Mexico also stated that Costa Rica had failed to apply or recognize...

Imperial, “The beer of Costa Rica”, was declared the first beer globally to be water positive. Being “Water Positive” means having strategies in place to contribute with water conservation, “Imperial has managed to reduce in over 44% the consumption of water in its manufacturing process, with the help of investments in high technology equipment, and the establishment of good environmental pract...

Brussels, Mar 6 — Agriculture ministers from European Union member states on Monday approved a new organic produce deal with Chile, announced the European Council. In a press release, the EC said the deal — the first of this kind with a Latin American country — would allow the two parties to recognize their rules and control systems as equivalent, meaning organic produce from the EU could be so...

Who doesn’t love a delicious brunch? Although many families enjoy going out for brunch during the weekend, there is never a bad day for brunch, actually it has become quite popular for business meetings, since it keeps a more “informal” affair. Many people in Costa Rica choose to go to Denny’s for brunch… Denny’s? Sure food is good, but considering we are in Costa Rica, there are many alternati...

Over the past nine months the Burger King fast food chain has been resurrecting after its operations bottomed out in Costa Rica in October 2015, reported Costa Rica’s business daily El Financiero. The brand's new franchisee, Corporación JV de Centroamérica, has invested no less than US$2.5 million to open eight eateries in that time. Mario Jiménez, general manager of Burger King Costa Rica, ...

—Currently a situation of rivalry between government institutions in Costa Rica hinders efforts to improve small-scale fisheries, found a case study on Costa Rica. A report released this week by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s Fisheries and Aquaculture Department and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Fisheries Expert Group analyzed the role o...

Saturday, March 11, 11 a.m., the first Street Food Festival in Costa Rica will bring you a wide choice of delicious culinary options. Twenty food trucks, among them Wiches, Garibaldi, Papata, La Ventanita Meraki, Delitruck and La Cebichería, will be present at this festival that will take place at the Kölbi Event Center in Parque Viva, La Guácima, Alajuela. Different flavors and styles hope ...

Whether or not you are in a romantic relationship, celebrating Valentines is a good excuse to go out and enjoy a nice dinner, music, a movie, etc., with your loved one or with friends. If you still don’t have plans or simply have no idea what you can do for this Valentine’s day in Costa Rica, here are some options for you, make sure to make your reservation ahead of time: Al Mercat Restaurant:...

The food and drinks event will happen March 18th from 11 a.m to 8 p.m in Avenida Escazu, presenting over 180 types of beer, both national and international. Several food trucks offering the traditional bar and restaurant dishes, cocktail stand, sangria and wine are part of the menu that will be offered that day, which won’t be short on entertainment with presentations of urban music concerts w...

By Wendy Anders Looking for a light, fruity, and easy mixed-drink option? Two new Smirnoff flavored alcoholic drinks were introduced this month in Costa Rica by Florida Beverages and Diageo, said the companies. Smirnoff Ice Electric Spicy Grapefruit (exclusive to Costa Rica) and Smirnoff Ice Electric Maracuyá can be found in supermarkets, convenience stores, and liquor stores and bars thr...

Starbucks sent the following message to all partners (employees) on January 31st 2017 Regarding creating jobs for veterans On January 29, Starbucks announced plans to hire 10,000 refugees around the world in the 75 countries where it does business over the next five years. This plan is an extension of Starbucks ongoing commitment to create pathways to meaningful employment for veterans, militar...

By Wendy Anders The annual Big Mac Index published by The Economist revealed its most recent data on the fast food product Thursday. And, not surprisingly, here in Costa Rica, we pay a relatively high price for McDonald’s emblematic meal. According to the index, a big mac in Costa Rica costs 2,250 colones, which is $4.06 at the current exchange rate of 554.33 colones to the U.S. dollar. ...

WATERBURY, Vermont, U.S., Jan. 7 — Single-serve coffee machine manufacturer Keurig will partner with brewer Anheuser Busch-InBev to create an in-home cocktail and beer maker, the companies said. The as-yet-unnamed device will be able to dispense beer, spirits, cocktails and mixers, the companies said in a joint press release Friday. Keurig has already begun experimenting with cold drink disp...

Beijing, Dec. 28 — Fast-food restaurant chain McDonald's is considering selling its China franchise either to the Chinese state-owned financial conglomerate CITIC or the American investment fund Carlyle, official newspaper China Daily reported Wednesday. McDonald's operates more than 2,200 establishments in China and Hong Kong, valued at around $2 billion, according to the newspaper, which provid...

By Wendy Anders Increased rainfall caused by the mid-November cold front followed by Hurricane Otto in late November resulted in large losses for Costa Rica’s coffee producers in the regions of Coto Brus and Perez Zeledon. To date, Coto Brus and part of Buenos Aires, in Costa Rica’s extreme south, have experienced a loss of up to 25 percent this year’s crop, or an estimated 50,000 bushels, a...

Barcelona (Spain), Dec. 11 — Santiago Peralta went from being an Ecuadorean peasant, raising cows and selling guinea pigs as a child, to being ranked the Best Chocolatier in the World by the Fine Chocolate Industries Association (FCIA). "Thank God I've never been to any chocolate school," says the founder of the family company Pacari, to EFE in Barcelona, who boasts growing the first organic co...

If you didn’t have a chance to go to the “La Luz Escalante” Gastronomic Festival last weekend, don’t worry about it, you will get a chance to try some of the delicious dishes presented at the festival during the next four weekends of December. Barrio Escalante, located in the east side of San Jose, will become a gastronomic boulevard every weekend of this last month, offering different cuisine ...

(Reuters) - Nestle, the world's largest packaged food group, said it had devised a new technology that has the potential to reduce sugar in some of its confectionery products by up to 40 percent without affecting the taste. The maker of Kitkat and Aero bars said its researchers have found a way using only natural ingredients to change the structure of sugar particles. By hollowing out the cryst...

The fourth edition of the Gastronomic Festival “La Luz Escalante” will take place this Sunday, December 4, and will have the participation of 19 restaurants. Food, music and art, merge in this event which will offer a great variety of different dishes and gastronomic alternatives for the attending public in each of the participating restaurants, canopies and booths and food trucks . Barrio E...

A baby who is about the right age to start trying solid foods (6 months is the recommended age), source Facebook. Liquid-based nutritional supplements, originally formulated for malnourished or undernourished children, need more regulatory oversight as they are increasingly marketed to promote growth in children generally, warn researchers at Emory University in Atlanta, U.S. The jour...

By Wendy Anders Costa Rican President Luis Guillermo Solís views local seafood products on display at a 'buy local' CNP event. To strengthen local livestock producers and fisheries, the majority of which are micro, small, and medium-sized businesses, the Costa Rican government has asked all public institutions to purchase Costa Rican-raised products. Minister of Agriculture Luis Felipe A...

By Wendy Anders Children in Costa Rica, photo for illustrative purposes. The Costa Rican Supreme Court recently ruled that jail is a reasonable consequence for those who fail to pay child support in Costa Rica due to the “exceptional nature of the obligation,” reported CRHoy.com. Magistrates said the 6-month jail term for those who lapse in their payments is reasonable, and upheld the m...

Bangkok, Oct 27 — Thai firms are preparing to export insects for human consumption to the European Union, which organized a conference in Bangkok this week to explain new regulations covering this category of food products. Fried silkworm salad, Facebook. Thailand is one the world's largest consumers of insects and has some 20,000 insect farms. Products made from these invertebrates are als...

Coffee was first introduced in Costa Rica in the year 1808 when the governor Tomás de Acosta took a risk and started a coffee plantation. Costa Rica was the first Central American country to get involved in this fast growing industry and with this the culture of coffee became part of Costa Rica’s history. Costa Rica had perfect conditions for the “Gold Grain”, rich volcanic soil, a dry and a ra...