For some unknown reason I wake up earlier in Panama than I did in the States. It’s not like I have anything special to get accomplished. I am, after all, retired. But somewhere between 5:45 and 6:00 in the morning some alarm clock goes off in my brain and I wake up and it’s impossible to snooze back off.
So, I get up and make a cup of locally grown coffee. I’ve tried Duran, Flor de Chiriqui and two from Finca Ruiz, an espresso roast and an Italian roast. I think the Italian roast is the tastiest. Absolutely delicious. I miss my espresso machine but my single mug French press makes a good cup and a lot of coffee aficionados swear by the press.
With my steaming mug I go sit for a while out on the front steps of the house looking down the mountain towards the Pacific coast and the islands off shore. The clouds are beautiful. This is what it looked like this morning at 6:00 a.m.
One More Good Adventure 
We go up to the Frontera often and usually buy some Costa Rican brands of coffee there. The Panama brands are getting better, but you might want to try some from CR.
Don, just got back up on the mountain after doing some shopping in the lowlands. Super Baru didn’t have any of Ruiz’s Italian Roast so I picked up their French Roast. I only buy the beans and grind them up as I go. I know enough about coffee to do that. Anyway, the French Roast is pretty good, too.
I’m sure the Costa Rican coffee is excellent, but I’m one of those odd sorts that always supports local stuff, especially if it’s at least decent. For instance, when I lived in New Orleans I drank Dixie Beer. In Belize it was Belikan and Guatemala I downed my share of Gallo. Here I prefer Balboa but Panama as a backup.
As I said in this blog post: https://oldsalt1942.wordpress.com/2009/08/01/my-morning-cup-of-coffee/
I didn’t start drinking coffee until later on in my life. https://oldsalt1942.wordpress.com/2009/10/24/who-in-hell-figured-out-coffee/
The best place I ever was for coffee was Spain, followed by Italy. American coffee pretty much sucks in my opinion. The worst place, though, was Guatemala. Known for its coffee the unfortunate fact is they export pretty much every decent bean they produce. Whatever is swept up off the roasting house floor is what’s available to buy there. The grossest stuff I’ve ever had. You couldn’t get a good cup of coffee down on the Rio Dulce if you kidnapped the President’s daughter and held her for ransom.
Your morning clouds are beautiful – and I can smell that cup of coffee. I hadn’t read your earlier post (My Morning Cup of Coffee) and really enjoyed it.
I’m socially deprived – never have used a French press. My drip pot is about over the hill – I may go with a French press to replace it since I have an old 12-cupper I can use if other folks are around.
My Swedish grandmother did her coffee the old-fashioned way – mixing egg and coffee together and then adding them (together with the shell) to boiling water on the stove. After it had boiled a while, she’d set it aside and let the grounds settle out. Wonderful!
The French press is a wonderful device. A “coffee for dummies” sort of thing with only one moving part. Throw in the grounds, add water, wait five minutes, push down plunger “et voila” as they say in Antibes. I actually put my sugar in with the grounds. Bodum is the biggest name in presses and they make several sizes. They’re made of glass and I used to go through one a year since they break when they hit the floor. And you’re doing good if you can hold it down to one a year when you live on a boat. Then I found that someone also makes a press of plastic, available from West Marine. That’s what I use now and it’s especially good if you’re traveling. On one trip down the ICW years ago when we’d have breakfast at a restaurant I’d throw the grounds into my press, put it into the pocket of my foul weather jacket and at the restaurant order tea and tell them not to put the bag in the water. When the cup of hot water would arrive I’d pull out my press and pour the water in it. That way I’d have MY favorite cup of coffee (I hate the American swill) and since I’d paid for the tea the restaurant didn’t lose money or get offended.