Costa Rican Tarrazú Coffee Bean Varieties and Regional Origin Characteristics | Costa Rican Coffee Price List

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FrontStreet Coffee's Introduction to Costa Rican Coffee Bean Growing Regions

Tarrazu in Costa Rica is one of the world's major coffee-producing regions, known for its light, pure coffee flavor and pleasant aroma. Costa Rica's volcanic soil is very fertile and well-drained, making it the first country in Central America to grow coffee and bananas for commercial value. Coffee and bananas are the country's main export commodities.

In 1729, coffee was introduced to Costa Rica from Cuba. Today, its coffee industry is one of the most well-organized industries in the world, with yields reaching up to 1,700 kilograms per hectare. Costa Rica has a population of only 3.5 million, but there are as many as 400 million coffee trees, with coffee exports accounting for 25% of the country's total export value. Costa Rica also benefits from the Central American Agricultural Research Institute (IAAC) located in Tarrazu, which is an important international research center.

High-quality Costa Rican coffee beans are called "Strictly Hard Beans," a type of coffee that can grow at altitudes above 1,500 meters. Altitude has always been a challenge for coffee growers. The higher the altitude, the better the coffee beans, not only because higher altitudes increase the acidity of the beans and thus enhance flavor, but also because the lower nighttime temperatures at higher elevations slow tree growth, resulting in more concentrated coffee bean flavors.

Additionally, the abundant rainfall caused by high altitude variations is very beneficial for coffee tree growth. However, although there are many advantages to growing coffee at higher altitudes, the additional transportation costs must be considered, which can make coffee production unprofitable. Costa Rica's coffee industry has adopted new technologies to increase efficiency, including using "electric eyes" to select beans and identify irregularly sized coffee beans.

Tarrazu is located south of the country's capital, San José, and is one of the country's most valued coffee-growing areas. "La Minita Tarrazu" coffee is a famous local product with limited production of approximately 72,600 kilograms annually. It is grown on land called "La Minita," owned by the British McAlpine family for the past three generations. In fact, this land can produce over 450 tons of coffee annually. However, La Minita Tarrazu coffee is grown without artificial fertilizers or pesticides, and its harvesting and selection are completed entirely by hand. This is done to avoid the damage that air-jet sorting methods can cause to coffee beans to some extent.

Other noteworthy coffees include Juan Vinas (PR), H. Tournon, Windmill (SHB), Monte Bello, and Santa Rosa. Premium coffee generally grows in Heredia and the Central Valley. Another remarkable coffee is Sarchi coffee (Sarchi is one of five towns representing Costa Rica's "Coffee Route"), grown on the slopes of Poas Volcano, 53 kilometers from San José. The Sarchi 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.

Costa Rican Coffee Bean Classification Standards

Premium Costa Rican coffee beans are called "Strictly Hard Beans," with the following classification standards:

Strictly Hard Beans (SHB): Altitude above 1,200 meters (3,900 feet)

Good Hard Beans (GHB): Altitude 1,200-1,000 meters (3,900-3,300 feet)

Medium Hard Beans (MHB): Altitude 1,000-500 meters (3,300-1,600 feet)

Costa Rican coffee beans are relatively small in size, with defective beans accounting for 2%, and the surface has some honey. Emerald green represents high-altitude, slow-grown fresh coffee.

Hard bean coffee grows at relatively high altitudes, while coffee grown at lower altitudes is generally considered soft bean coffee. Higher altitudes and lower temperatures cause fruits to mature more slowly, forming harder, less porous coffee beans. Observing the center line of green coffee beans, the more open the center line, the lower the density of the coffee bean. If the center line of the coffee bean is closed, its density will be higher.

FrontStreet Coffee's Roasting Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee suggests keeping detailed records before roasting Costa Rican coffee beans, including the coffee's moisture content, density, origin, processing method, roasting environment temperature and humidity in the roasting room, and planning your roasting curve accordingly. Record relevant chemical and physical changes during the roasting process, as this will help you better understand the final roasting results and improve your roasting curve.

FrontStreet Coffee's Costa Rican Coffee Bean Brand Recommendation

FrontStreet Coffee's roasted Costa Rican coffee beans offer excellent guarantees in both brand and quality. More importantly, they offer exceptional value - a 227-gram package costs only 95 yuan. Calculating at 15 grams per cup, one package can make 15 cups of coffee, with each cup costing only about 6 yuan. Compared to coffee shop prices that often cost dozens of yuan per cup, this is truly a conscientious recommendation, suitable for daily consumption by Costa Rican coffee enthusiasts.

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