Hot for Java

While in Mexico, I purchased a cappuccino from "The Original" Chocobanana. It's true, coffee culture has infiltrated the streets of sweet unsuspecting Sayulita.

You can't go a stone's throw without spotting a coffee-cup carrying native. Five years ago, when I was living in town, the coffee shops were present but had not yet overtaken the town.

What really made the push to dependency on these shops? Two words: Free Wi-Fi. For coffee shops everywhere, it is the ultimate bargaining chip. Here, the Internet cafes charge you roughly two dollars per hour of use, but imagine, unlimited Internet while you enjoy your cup of joe?

It's the American dream.

I too love my Wi-Fi, so when Starbucks wisely stopped charging I immediately became a customer. Twenty years ago, who would think that a computer would help sell a cup of coffee? That being said, The Original Chocobanana is to Sayulita what Starbucks is to Rancho Palos Verdes. 

Just like Starbucks, they have branding, they are in a very central location, everyone is on a laptop, and even small children are sipping tall lattes. When owner of the Chocobanana, Tracie Willis, first arrived the only coffee served in Sayulita was Nescafe.

"I taught Sayulita how to drink coffee!" she said.

Born in Canada, raised in England, Tracie took up residence in Sayulita 20 years ago and began her own business. It emerged from simple beginnings in 1995, as a frozen chocolate-covered banana stand. From this, it turned into what it is known as today, a full-service coffee shop with Wi-Fi and top-notch breakfasts.

These are the individuals responsible for bringing the very first coffee machine into town, and now Tracie's son, Andrew, roasts the organic coffee beans used in the cafe. They purchase the beans from Nayarit, Chiapas and Belacruz, which boast the best beans in all of Mexico. Like Starbucks, Chocobanana has some competitors. El Espresso is like the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf of Sayulita; they offer a similar menu, but don't quite have the branding.

In the center of town, it's a coffee face-off, with the Chocobanana on one end of the square and El Espresso directly across from it. El Espresso isn't the only contender, there's also Sweet Times, Rollie's, Paninos, and not to mention the town "Walmart," Oxxo.

Oxxo being a major chain similar to 7-11, has given all the small businesses in the area a run for their money. It is convenient, cheap, and open 24/7. For all it´s conveniences, Oxxo still doesn't provide a coffee shop atmosphere or Wi-Fi, which gives all coffee shops an edge on the big business.

The Golden Cove Starbucks, with which I am most familiar, creates a fantastic coffee shop atmosphere with the added bonus of outdoor seating and a fire pit. Here you can sit with your cup of coffee enjoying the beautiful coastal vista. However, if you would like to see the sunset while enjoying your beverage in Sayulita, you'll have to get it in a to-go cup, as of yet, none have a location on the ocean.

In Sayulitan coffee shops, there is no such thing as indoor seating, only "partially-covered" seating. But who wants to sit inside when you're in the middle of the jungle on a gorgeous sunny day?

Sayulita is now hopping on board the bandwagon for the "green initiative" in order to keep their jungle clean. Tracie of Chocobanana was the first to introduce recycling to Sayulita. They began collecting bottles and paper and trucking it down to Puerto Vallarta where they would sell it to a recycling plan. Much like any of the coffee shops in RPV, Chocobanana supports and loudly applauds anyone who brings in a reusable container to fill with coffee.

Sayulita might not have initially joined the coffee shop phenomenon quite as quickly as we have in RPV, but they're definitely up to speed on their coffee culture.