Costa Rica Coffee Origin: Tarrazu Growing Region_Where to Buy Tarrazu Coffee Beans

Costa Rica: The Beautiful Coast

Costa Rica means "beautiful coast". This environmentally beautiful, safe, and comfortable nation is known as the "Switzerland of Central America".

Tarrazu Region

Tarrazu is located in the Los Santos region, about 70 km south of the capital, San Jose.

In the mid-19th century, many residents migrated from the Central Basin to the vicinity of Los Santos.

The settlers named their streets after saints: San Pablo de Leon Cortes, San Marcos de Tarrazu, and Santa Maria de Dota. The name Tarrazu originated from this practice.

Tarrazu sits in the valley region along the Pacific coast and is a famous natural scenic sanctuary. Its narrow valleys and mountain slopes are ideal for coffee cultivation.

Costa Rica Tarrazu Coffee

In Costa Rica, coffee production is carried out in a natural manner that does not harm the environment. Beyond its exceptional quality, its environmental protection efforts have received high international praise.

Coffee in Costa Rica is grown in eight producing regions: Brunca, Central Basin, Guanacaste, Orosi, Tarrazu, Tres Rios, West Valley, and Turrialba.

Tarrazu coffee grown in the highlands is characterised by an "elegant taste that is acidic but not astringent, complemented by a rich coffee aroma".

It has received international acclaim and maintains high popularity across Asia. In Korea it is held in the same esteem as Blue Mountain coffee.

The Tarrazu producing region, set in Costa Rica's Central Pacific mountain range, turns out some of the world's finest coffee. Rugged terrain and extremely fertile soil are spread across valleys ranging from 1,400 to 1,700 meters above sea level. This special altitude and cool climate produce coffee beans that are hard, rich in oils, and full of aroma and character in every cup.

Tarrazu is a coffee that can wake you from drowsiness. Roasted medium-dark, it smells of wood and dark chocolate, with flavours of cocoa and grapefruit in the cup. Highly recommended.

Recently championed by the Specialty Coffee Tasting Association, this bean has won the Costa Rica International Coffee Recommendation Competition. Costa Rica is one of the finest coffee-producing countries in Central America. Blessed by nature with volcanic terrain that supplies the most natural organic fertiliser, it produces coffee beans renowned worldwide for their bright citrus and berry acidity. After roasting they fully express rich fruit acidity while keeping an extremely balanced, clean, and bright flavour profile.

Among these, excellent beans that are carefully cultivated by hand, meticulously nurtured, and strictly selected can reach the list of specialty coffee roasting candidates. Coffee beans processed through precise roasting methods can achieve the taste worthy of the name "specialty coffee", mainly featuring the slightly stimulating Tarrazu grassy flavour, a good body, and excellent complexity. The taste is smooth with moderate acidity.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Tarrazu's appeal is its balance of bright citrus and berry acidity with a clean, structured body, and if that balance is what you love, FrontStreet's Jamaica Blue Mountain No. 1 is the classic counterpart. Grown on the historic Clifton estate, which has produced coffee since around 1750 at an average elevation of 4,300 feet (1,310.64 meters), it takes a medium-dark roast that draws out nuts, dark chocolate, cream caramel, and gentle sweetness in perfect harmony, with no single note overpowering the others. Blue Mountain's reputation rests on that same evenness, and it is famously the specialty coffee that pleases almost everyone. Traditional Blue Mountain travels in wooden barrels of 15, 45, and 70 kilograms, each carrying full batch information, so you can trace it from farm to cup. It is the ideal bottle to keep beside your Tarrazu when you want to compare Central American brightness with Caribbean smoothness.