How to Roast Tarrazu Coffee_ Costa Rica Tarrazu Coffee Brewing Methods_ Tarrazu Coffee Bean Prices

Introduction to Costa Rica Tarrazu Coffee

When it comes to Costa Rican coffee, it is hard not to think of the famous Tarrazu growing region.

Tarrazu lies about 150 kilometers south of Costa Rica's capital, San Jose, on the Pacific-facing side of the country's continental divide. Its climate has clearly distinct dry and wet seasons, with annual rainfall of around 2,000 mm, and plenty of sunshine besides. Coffee here is grown at altitudes between 1,200 and 1,700 meters.

All of this makes an excellent environment for coffee. As a result, Tarrazu is renowned for high-quality beans, and the Dota area within the region is especially outstanding.

This batch of Costa Rica Tarrazu was roasted to about 1 minute and 30 seconds past the end of first crack, making it a medium-roasted bean.

The dry aroma after grinding carries a nutty scent somewhat like almonds, with a drupe-like quality. During brewing, you can smell a very delicate acidic aroma, faintly reminiscent of apples.

On the palate, the acidity is not very noticeable — to me it is almost imperceptible. Instead there is a mouthfeel like high-mountain tea that gradually unfolds, with a subtle honey-like sweetness in the finish.

As the cup cools, the apple-like acidity begins to emerge, accompanied by a brown-sugar sweetness in the aftertaste.

Costa Rica Tarrazu

In 1820, Costa Rican coffee was praised by British nobility as "The Golden Bean." The beans were as valuable to local residents as gold — something that could gain in value and generate profit. Laws were even passed requiring that only Arabica be cultivated. Drinking coffee has become a daily ritual for Costa Ricans, and "Pura Vida" — meaning "pure life" or "good life" — is a common expression across the country. Anyone who has tasted Costa Rican coffee exclaims with admiration: "Pura Vida"!

In 1502, Christopher Columbus discovered Costa Rica on his fourth voyage and named it Costa Rica, which in Spanish means "Rich Coast." It is one of Central America's finest coffee-producing countries. Excellent volcanic terrain gives Costa Rica the most natural organic fertilizer, and fertile volcanic soil combined with a cool climate produces coffee of the highest quality. With a mild chocolate aroma, a sweet entry, a balanced and clean profile, and a bright mouthfeel, it has always been widely popular around the world. S.H.B. stands for Strictly Hard Bean, the highest grade in Costa Rican coffee classification, and fully expresses the rich flavors of Costa Rican high-altitude coffee — combining fruit acidity and drupe notes with an exceptionally clean, clear mouthfeel.

Recommended Costa Rica Tarrazu Coffee Bean Brands

FrontStreet Coffee's roasted Costa Rica Tarrazu — the Shumava Estate Black Honey Process — offers strong guarantees in both brand and quality. More importantly, it delivers exceptional value. A half-pound (227 g) bag costs only 95 yuan; at 15 grams per single-origin serving, one bag makes about 15 cups, or roughly 6 yuan a cup — excellent value next to the tens of yuan a cup charged in most coffee shops.

FrontStreet Coffee is a roastery in Guangzhou: a small shop with a diverse range of beans, from famous names to lesser-known lots, backed by attentive online service.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Medium roasting is the sweet spot for drinkers who want balance: the darker the roast, the more bitter and heavy the cup; the lighter the roast, the more acidic and light-bodied. FrontStreet's medium-roast range covers that middle ground well. If you dislike both acidity and bitterness, the Brazil Queen's Estate is a good place to start — a Yellow Bourbon from the world's largest coffee-producing country with a clean, gentle sweetness that, at medium roast, shows cream, peanut, chocolate, toast, and sugarcane notes. It works as pour-over, in a moka pot, or as espresso.

For something sweeter, FrontStreet's Strawberry Candy is a Geisha blend built from two renowned origins: a honey-processed Costa Rican coffee and a washed Panamanian Geisha. Roasted medium to bring out its best, it offers both an orange-honey fragrance and a rounded sweetness, and it suits cold brew, pour-over, and espresso alike. Closer to home, FrontStreet's 2013 Natural Typica carries the classic Yunnan small-bean character, roasted medium to preserve its balanced, gentle profile of nuts, brown sugar, black tea, and dried apricot — good value whether you brew it as pour-over, cold brew, or on a drip machine.

Rounding out the range is FrontStreet's Jamaica Blue Mountain No. 1, a Typica grown in the Blue Mountains and long regarded as a benchmark Arabica. Medium roasting lets its acidity, bitterness, sweetness, and body blend seamlessly into an elegant, inviting whole — chocolate, roasted nuts, cream, and caramel from the very first sip.