In a time when we can reach thousands of people with a single click, perhaps we are forgetting one of the simplest and most powerful ways to connect with someone: sitting down, talking, and having something together.
In my last three articles, I focused quite a bit on something artificial: AI. This time, I wanted to shift gears a little and talk about something much more human: sitting down, having a conversation, listening, and connecting with other people. And to do that, I am going to use one of my favorite excuses: a cup of coffee.
The history of coffee is a mix of legend, trade, and encounters between cultures. Although the plant has its roots in Ethiopia, it was in Yemen and the Arabian Peninsula that, between the 15th and 16th centuries, coffee began to be cultivated and prepared as the beverage we know today. From there, it spread throughout the region, and with it came the first coffeehouses: places to talk, exchange ideas, and do business. From its earliest days, coffee was never just a drink; it was also a space for people to come together.
Centuries later, coffee found a second home in Costa Rica. Since the beginning of the 19th century, it has been part of our economy, our landscape, and our identity. It is in the mountains, in family stories, in our kitchens, and in that very Costa Rican phrase: “¿Quiere un cafecito?” — “Would you like some coffee?” But its true value goes far beyond what it produces or represents economically. Coffee is not only grown or exported: it is served, shared, and used to open conversations.
Interestingly, coffee also ended up connecting two very different chapters of my own life. I was born and raised in a coffee-growing country like Costa Rica and, years later, had the opportunity to live and work for almost nine years in Qatar, an Arab country where coffee also holds a very special place.
One of the most important things I learned in Qatar was precisely the value of sitting down, having a coffee, and talking. Both personally and professionally, that moment goes far beyond the drink itself. Sometimes, the line between those two worlds becomes so thin that it almost disappears.
And that is no coincidence. In 2015, UNESCO inscribed Arabic coffee, a symbol of generosity, on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, following a nomination submitted by Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Oman. Not so much because of the drink itself, but because of what it represents: generosity, hospitality, and human connection.
At first, it was difficult for me to understand. I had worked in environments where work was work and personal life was personal. Meetings had an agenda and a specific objective. You talked about the project, the budget, deadlines, and results. Everything else seemed secondary.
In Qatar, I learned a different way of building relationships. Before talking about business, you had to get to know the person. Talk about family, life, what you thought about things, and what was on your mind. It was not about wasting time or avoiding the professional conversation. It was about building the trust needed for that conversation to actually mean something.
That is where I understood that business is not built through business alone, but also through the personal relationships that support it. A proposal can be excellent and a contract perfectly written, but without trust between people, everything becomes more fragile.
A cup of coffee creates a different kind of space. It lowers our defenses, breaks down formality, and allows us to listen. That is where ideas, collaborations, and opportunities often emerge — the kind that rarely come from an automated application or a meeting full of slides.
Since returning to Costa Rica after almost a decade away, I realized that I needed to get to know the place I was returning to all over again. Not only reconnect with people I already knew, but also meet those who are doing interesting things today, building projects, moving ideas forward, and contributing from different spaces.
I could spend hours scrolling through LinkedIn, reading profiles, posts, and career paths. But little by little, I realized that this gave me information, not necessarily context. So I started doing something much simpler: reaching out to people I found interesting and inviting them to have a conversation.
Not necessarily because I wanted to ask them for something. Many times, it was simply to meet them, hear what they were working on, understand how they see Costa Rica today, and learn from their experience. After so many years away, those conversations have become a way for me to reconnect with the ecosystem, seek guidance, and, above all, shape my own perspective on this new chapter of my life back in the country.
And yes, sometimes you have to knock on many doors before a few of them open. But those conversations, even when they do not lead to anything immediate, can still leave you with something valuable: an idea, a perspective, a connection, or a new way of looking at things.
This becomes even more important at a time when technology, especially artificial intelligence, is present in almost everything we do. We have more tools than ever to communicate, yet we risk having fewer real conversations. We can send hundreds of messages, complete applications in seconds, and automate outreach, but no platform can replace the experience of sitting across from another person, listening to them, and allowing the conversation to take an unexpected turn.
A cup of coffee can lead to a good conversation, a friendship, a collaboration, a job, a project, or at the very least, a good joke. For some, it might be tea; for others, a beer. The medium may change depending on the context, but the intention remains the same: to create a genuine moment of connection.
So, if you are looking for an opportunity — whether professional, personal, or simply the chance to learn something new — do not be afraid to invite someone for coffee, even if you do not know them well yet. Not every invitation will get a response, and some conversations may not lead to anything concrete. That is okay.
The true power of a cup of coffee is not always in immediately getting what you were looking for. It is in creating a space to get to know someone, to listen, and to let yourself be known. In a time dominated by algorithms, profiles, and online applications, that simple gesture can have more impact than spending hours scrolling, hoping to find behind a screen something that might only appear when two people sit down and talk.