Costa Rica San Roman Coffee Bean Market Status and Costa Rica Coffee Brand Recommendations

About FrontStreet Coffee

FrontStreet Coffee is a specialty coffee roaster devoted to single-origin beans and house blends, and to sharing origin stories and brewing guides with home baristas.

Product Information

Manufacturer: FrontStreet Coffee
Shelf Life: 30 days
Net Weight: 227g
Packaging: Bulk
Taste: Mellow and aromatic
Coffee Bean State: Roasted coffee beans
Sugar Content: Sugar-free
Origin: Costa Rica
Coffee Type: Costa Rican coffee
Roast Level: Medium roast

Flavor Description

Berry notes, caramel and cream, with a hint of spice.

Costa Rican Coffee Heritage

Costa Rica was the first country in Central America to cultivate coffee, and it has both a long history and a complete chain running from production to sales. Sitting on the Central American isthmus amid numerous volcanoes, the country enjoys natural advantages of abundant sunlight and fertile land. Its climate is shaped in harmony by Pacific and Atlantic currents and sea breezes, yielding coffee with a distinct local microclimate. In both quality and quantity, Costa Rican coffee has consistently won worldwide recognition and is rated among the world's finest. Coffee has been grown here for two hundred years, originally on the slopes of the Poas and Barva volcanoes in what is now called the Central Valley. The seven major coffee-growing regions are spread from northwest to southeast along the inland central plateau.

Because coffee growing carries such prestige in Costa Rica, coffee farmers hold a respected place in society. In 1897, residents of the capital witnessed the inauguration of the National Theater, donated by coffee tycoons. Coffee wealth brought stability to Costa Rica's politics, economy and democracy — a rarity among Central American countries. Costa Rica has also passed laws permitting only the cultivation of Arabica, with Robusta treated as "prohibited" within its borders, an initiative without precedent anywhere in the world.

Costa Rica's output is modest, at roughly 110,000 tons a year, ranking seventh in Central and South America. The country focuses mainly on newer varieties such as Catuai, Catimor and Mundo Novo, while the older Bourbon and Typica are less common. Several local varieties have been developed as well, the most famous being the Bourbon variety Villa Sarchi, prized for its elegant flavor. Brazil has introduced and grown this variety too, and it has won awards. Costa Rican research institutions have also worked tirelessly to improve the hybrid Catimor, trying to reduce its Robusta lineage while strengthening its Arabica character. In recent years it has been exported to Asia for trial cultivation.

Tarrazú: Costa Rica's Premier Coffee Region

The country's most famous growing region is Tarrazú, near the capital, San José. Tarrazú has the highest average latitude in the country, an excellent climate and superior soil, making it the most famous and most widely recognized fine coffee region in Costa Rica. Tres Rios is a renowned sub-region within Tarrazú. The best-known Costa Rican single-origin coffee in the specialty world is La Minita estate in Tarrazú, which produces only 160,000 pounds a year.

San Román Processing Facility

The San Román processing facility works mainly with the washed method and is known for coffee with intense, rich flavors and a solid mouthfeel. Cherries are hand-sorted, with farmers removing overripe or underripe fruit before processing. A 3-disc Aagaarde pulper removes the skin and pulp, after which the beans are machine-sorted by density into three grades. Grade 1 and 2 green beans are fermented separately, while Grade 3 consists of lower-quality beans. The green beans are fermented in a cool place for roughly 24-36 hours. After fermentation they are washed and sorted again by density in the washing channels, then soaked at random in clean water overnight. After processing and roasting, the bittersweet chocolate flavor builds a substantial sweetness reminiscent of cream candy, blended with a subtle wine-like acidity. The aromatic fragrance and the fruity sweetness of the chocolate beans leave a lasting impression.

Costa Rica's volcanic terrain provides fertile volcanic ash, mild and suitable temperatures, and steady, abundant rainfall — all factors that make coffee one of the country's main agricultural products. The seven major producing regions are Tarrazú, Tres Rios, Orosi, Central Valley, West Valley, Turrialba and Brunca.

Brewing Instructions

Hand-pour Costa Rican San Román: use 15g of coffee, ground to a medium consistency (Fuji Smart G with ghost-tooth burrs, setting 4). Use a V60 dripper with water at 88-89°C. First pour 30g of water and let it bloom for 27 seconds. Continue pouring to 105g, then pause and wait until the water level in the coffee bed drops halfway before pouring slowly again to 225g. Avoid the final tail section. Water-to-coffee ratio is 1:15, with a total extraction time of 2:00.

Product Details: Costa Rica San Román Royal Coffee

Country: Costa Rica
Grade: SHB (Strictly Hard Bean)
Altitude: 1,700 meters
Region: Tarrazú region
Roast Level: Medium-dark roast
Processing Method: Washed processing
Varieties: Catuai, Catimor
Processing Facility: San Román processing facility
Flavor: Berry notes, caramel, cream, with subtle spices

The best Costa Rican coffee seems to come from small processing facilities scattered through the major growing regions, Tarrazú and West Valley among them. This so-called coffee revolution began 15 years ago and dramatically changed how roasting experts and importers view Costa Rican coffee. These facilities collect cherries from the surrounding small farms for processing; the farms are typically small communities or family operations growing coffee on their own plots, with every lot processed and dried by a single small facility. The quality and flavor of Royal Coffee are quite distinctive, thanks in large part to cooperation between coffee producers and our company.

Costa Rican Coffee Industry

Coffee cultivation reached Costa Rica from Cuba in 1779, with the first exports beginning in 1820. Today there are roughly 32,000 coffee farmers, each cultivating on average less than one hectare (10,000 square meters). Costa Rica has a population of 4.1 million (as of 2006), with coffee covering 82,500 hectares. Annual production reaches 1.7 million bags (60kg each), while domestic consumption runs 380,000 bags a year. Average per capita consumption is 5.5kg, higher than Japan's 4kg, while Taiwan's current average is only slightly above 1kg.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

San Román's hallmark is that interplay of bittersweet chocolate, cream candy and a soft wine-like acidity — the softer, sweeter face of Costa Rican coffee. The FrontStreet Strawberry Candy blend captures the same Central American character: it pairs a honey-processed Costa Rica coffee with washed Panama Geisha, so you get orange-blossom honey sweetness alongside the clarity and florals of Geisha.

Roasted medium, it keeps the rounded sweetness and gentle fruit that makes San Román so easy to drink, and it works equally well as a pour-over, cold brew or espresso. If you would rather stay with a pure single origin, the FrontStreet Brazil Queen Estate brings the yellow Bourbon sweetness of sugarcane, chocolate and roasted peanut at the same medium roast.