Are Costa Rican Organic Coffee Beans Expensive and How Do They Taste

Costa Rican Coffee Excellence

Coffee beans produced in the high-altitude regions of Costa Rica are world-renowned for being rich, mellow in flavor, yet extremely acidic. The Costa Rican coffee beans undergo meticulous processing, which is precisely why they achieve such high quality. Costa Rica is located south of the capital San José and is one of the country's most valued coffee-growing regions.

Tarrazú: Premier Coffee Region

Tarrazú in Costa Rica is one of the world's major coffee-producing areas, yielding coffee with a light and pure flavor and pleasant aroma. Costa Rica's volcanic soil is extremely fertile and well-drained, making it the first country in Central America to cultivate coffee and bananas for commercial purposes. Coffee and bananas are the country's main export commodities. Coffee was introduced to Costa Rica from Cuba in 1729, and today its coffee industry is one of the best-organized in the world, with yields reaching up to 1,700 kilograms per hectare. With a population of only 3.5 million, Costa Rica has as many as 400 million coffee trees, and coffee exports account for 25% of the country's total export value. Costa Rica also benefits from the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) established in Tarrazú, which serves as an important international research center.

Strictly Hard Beans (SHB)

Premium Costa Rican coffee beans are called "Strictly Hard Beans" (SHB), a type of coffee that can grow at altitudes above 1,500 meters. Altitude has always been a critical factor for coffee growers. The higher the altitude, the better the coffee beans—not only because higher altitudes increase the acidity of the beans, thereby enhancing flavor, but also because the lower night temperatures at higher elevations slow tree growth, resulting in more concentrated coffee bean flavors. Additionally, the altitude variations create abundant rainfall, which is highly beneficial for coffee tree growth.

S.H.B. indicates strictly hard beans grown at altitudes above 1,500 meters, signifying high-quality Costa Rican coffee beans. These strictly hard coffee beans, suitable for medium and dark roasting, possess strong acidity and captivating aromas. Costa Rican SHG coffee typically features full-bodied beans, clear flavors, bright acidity, and ideal viscosity. The robust flavor creates a long-lasting aftertaste that lingers in the throat, making it truly memorable.

Notable Coffee Varieties

Other noteworthy coffees include: Juan Viñas (PR), H. Tournon, Windmill (SHB), Montebello, and Santa Rosa. Premium coffee generally grows in the Heredia and Central Valley regions. Another remarkable coffee is Sarchí coffee (Sarchí is one of the five towns representing Costa Rica's "Coffee Route"), grown on the slopes of Poás Volcano, 53 kilometers from San José. The Sarchí company was founded in 1949, with land area of 30,770 hectares cultivating sugarcane and coffee. This region is also famous for handicrafts, attracting tourists from around the world.

Fire Phoenix Estate

Fire Phoenix Estate is located on the fertile hills of Poás Volcano in Costa Rica's Central Valley. It is one of the earliest producers in Central and South America to start producing honey-processed and natural-processed coffee, and is a completely 100% organically grown coffee estate. The estate owner believes that organic farming methods are better choices for environmental protection and family health, maintaining this philosophy despite facing many technical and organizational challenges.

The estate places great emphasis on environmental protection concepts, such as collecting rainwater for coffee processing and using vermicompost (worm composting) for organic fertilizer production, completely eliminating the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides in the cultivation process. The high-quality coffee produced by this estate is very distinctive, with its most notable feature being an astonishing sweetness—100% organic coffee! It gained widespread recognition when participating in the 2009 Specialty Coffee Competition.

During the harvest season, a refractometer (Brix meter), commonly used in the wine industry, is employed to measure the sugar content of the fruits. The optimal harvest time and processing method are determined based on Brix sugar content, with only cherries exceeding 20% sweetness being selected for natural processing. For comparison, typical Brix values for fruits are: apples at 14, lemons at 12, passion fruit at 18, but Fire Phoenix Estate's coffee cherries can reach 21-22.

Honey Processing Innovation

While Costa Rican coffee bean cultivation has a long history, in the past decade or so, the innovative "dry" processing method has become increasingly popular, collectively known as "honey processing." Honey processing is a method that falls between natural and washed processing. It allows coffee to retain the cleanliness of washed processing while significantly increasing the sweetness and caramel flavors because the mucilage is dried together with the beans (the mucilage has extremely high sugar content). Honey processing first appeared in Costa Rica in Central America, initially mainly because some high-altitude areas in Central America lacked water resources, so coffee fruits were dried together with the mucilage after being passed through depulpers.

Honey-processed Costa Rican coffee beans are graded into three levels based on the amount of mucilage retained (from most to least): Yellow Honey (20%), Red Honey (50%), and Black Honey (100%). Red honey processed coffee beans typically dry for 2-3 weeks, usually due to weather conditions or being placed in shaded areas. If the weather is clear, growers will partially shade to reduce sunlight exposure. The benefit of this approach is to avoid the over-fermentation sensation caused by direct sun exposure, making the coffee's overall dried fruit flavor apparent but not overly intense, with delicate fruit aromas and rich, persistent body, creating a long aftertaste!

Costa Rican Coffee Brand Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee's roasted Costa Rican coffee beans offer excellent guarantees in both brand and quality. More importantly, they provide exceptional value—at only 95 yuan for a 227-gram package. Calculating at 15 grams per cup, one package can make 15 cups of coffee, costing only about 6 yuan per cup. Compared to coffee shops selling each cup for dozens of yuan, this represents a truly conscientious recommendation.

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