Amazing beehives and other sights (with some cheese tasting, naturally…) all in Costa Rica!

We have just spent a wonderful week in beautiful Costa Rica. We often go away at this time of year, just to recover after the craziness that is December in the retail world. To be fair, the holiday didn’t start well with a 24hr delay at Heathrow Airport after a problem with our outbound flight but once we arrived in Costa Rica we soon forgot about the stresses of the journey.

We began with a few nights just outside Peurto Jimenez on the Osa Peninsula. This natural rainforest is home to 4 different species of monkey as well as numerous birds, snakes, spiders, butterflies, moths and beetles. We were staying in the heart of the forest and so could walk straight from our room amongst the trees to discover the wonders within. Coming across a Feu de Lance (the most deadly snake in Costa Rica) and a Tarantula whilst on out our first walk was a bit of a shock but an amazing start to our week. The Howler Monkeys kept us awake most nights (and also kept me company on my early morning runs!) but all in all it was an incredible wildlife experience

We then moved locations to the other side of the Golfo Dolce to Golfito, where our lodge was based on the beach at the edge of the Piedras Blancas National Park. This is a fairly recently protected area which means that its wildlife is in the early stages of development. It takes a while for the cultivated farmland to return to natural forest but first to arrive in ‘new’ areas is the birdlife. We saw a multitude of Hummingbirds and Red Capped Manakins with a couple of Macaw thrown in for good measure.

One of the highlights was walking into the forest and discovering a small farm with four beehives, home to thousands of stingless bees. These Tetragonisca angustula are one of approximately 60 different species of stingless bees in Costa Rica and they are the size of midges! They may be stingless but they are by no means defenceless. Each colony has a population of soldier bees which, if they feel threatened, surround the intruder and then start to beat their wings. This generates enough heat to overpower the attacker. Luckily they weren’t bothered by our presence! The honey these bees produce is known as ‘little angel honey’ and it has an usually strong antibiotic quality – just amazing. Ali had recently been at a honey workshop run by the Guild of Fine Food and led by honey sommelier, Sarah Wyndham Lewis of Bermondsey Street Bees, and so found the hives and the bees’ story totally inspiring.

Last (but by no means least) on our trip was an American artisan cheeseboard that we managed to scout out whilst making our long journey towards home. On this board we were treated to three very different cheeses:
– Butterkäse – originally from Germany but this one was made in Wisconsin. As the name suggests it is very buttery in flavour as well as texture with a slight savoury hint at the end.
– GranQueso – also made in Wisconsin, this is a Manchego style sheep’s milk cheese. It had good length in the mouth with a hint of honey and a slight lambiness on the tongue.
– Statesboro Blue – is a Gorgonzola style cheese from Minnesota. It was rich, creamy and tangy with a perfect balance of piquancy. This was definitely my favourite out of the three!

Unfortunately we weren’t allowed to bring any cheese back with us and none of our wholesalers sell American cheeses but I’d definitely recommend seeking the Statesboro Blue out if you are ever over in the USA. But what about the cheeses that we do currently have available in Pangbourne…

Valentine’s Day

We have some delicious heart shaped cheeses coming in this week, especially for Valentine’s Day (or any day as far as I’m concerned!) Neufchâtel and Coeur de Chèvre (unsurprisingly from France) as well as the ever present Godminster Cheddar Hearts that we sell all year round…

Other great gifts for that special person in your life include our very special, locally produced English Sparkling wine. Hailing from Enborne (just outside Newbury) the All Angels Cuvée is aged on its lees which adds to the wonderful, lingering flavour of this vibrant bubbly. We also have some artisan, handmade chocolates in store as well as our ever popular cheese gift boxes. If you order before Monday 12th you can select delivery on Valentine’s Day itself!

Click here to see our Valentine’s Day Gift Cheese Box