The 24-year-old barista Remy Molina won the international competition of that specialty, “Coffee Masters New York”, held in that American city, last October 12th-14th, 2018, as announced by the Association of Fine Coffee of Costa Rica, in which the Costa Rican works. The competition calls for specialists in preparing coffee-based beverages, for which they must send their curriculum and a video detailing their work in the preparation of this type of product.
In this case, Molina explained that he made a coffee drink from the area of San Ramón, with a mixture of cognac and other ingredients (including liquor and coffee syrup, cocoa and vodka, and orange juice), to which he called “First Impression”. In the end, he declared, the drink had very sweet notes such as sugar cane, tangerine notes combined with dehydrated plum and a strong aroma of spices and orange.
When presenting his drink to the jury and the public in New York, Molina said that as a 1st question he said: “What impression do you have of Costa Rica, apart from the quality of your coffee?” Hence, the name of the mixture for the contest.
‘Baristas’ add value to coffee shops
The reaction of all was to talk about the beaches and tourism in general of Costa Rica, Molina said. The moment was used, he said, to highlight how tourism in Costa Rica has become one of the main sources of resources because the country has a great natural, cultural and gastronomic wealth.
The name also starts from the fact that the first impression a person has is kept in the retina and in the memory. That is why the moment and what Costa Rica does in coffee and tourism, according to Molina, were of great relevance for the 2 sectors.
In tourism, he said, the first impression of a place remains in the client and the same happens when coffee is offered in a different presentation in a gastronomic business. In both cases, Costa Rica has a great advance, said the coffee specialist. Another aspect included in his proposal, explained the barista, is to let the world know that Costa Rica not only knows how to produce excellent coffee but also prepare it in its final drink.
About the impact of this triumph in New York, Molina considered that it is a great impulse for the country because although there are great professionals in this field, a position at such a level on an international scale had never been achieved.
The winner said that he has been in coffee for 6 years and that before that he did not drink. Nor has, he added, a family of coffee roots, but was interested in the subject when working as a waitress and gave him the opportunity to receive a course in the Association of Fine Coffee.
The Coffee Masters New York signed up last year and reached the final stage in the US city, but it did not go very well. However, he persevered and in this 2018 reached the 1st place, after being driven by family and friends. One of them, mixologist champion Isaac Montero, helped him prepare the winning drink.