Costa Rica Tarrazú Coffee: Tarrazú Coffee Flavor Profile and How to Enjoy It

Introduction to Costa Rican Coffee

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Costa Rica produces the most stable quality coffee in Central America, with a very long history of coffee production that dates back to the 19th century when it was already exported to Britain. In Costa Rica, the Robusta variety (used for canned coffee) is legally prohibited from cultivation, with only Arabica varieties being permitted. The best quality production areas are Tarrazu, West Valley, and Central Valley. In recent years, due to rising land costs, coffee production has decreased, cultivation costs have risen, and fine coffee has become harder to obtain.

The Story of Tres Milagros Estate

In the specialty coffee circle, whenever Camilo, the owner of Santo Domingo Estate, is mentioned, most people agree that due to his extraordinary passion for coffee cultivation and innovative experimental spirit, he has become a cooperative partner for many top baristas worldwide over the years. In 2013, the Facusse family, who had long operated food sales in Costa Rica through the Dinant company, decided to leverage Camilo's successful experience with Colombian estate cultivation to start a brand new estate project in Costa Rica, naming it Tres Milagros Estate. The name Tres Milagros (Three Miracles) originated from Camilo's belief that all successful estates absolutely require the cooperation and coordination of three factors: coffee trees, farmers, and land.

Tres Milagros Estate's Unique Features

When deciding to start the Costa Rican estate project, location was the most crucial determining factor. After lengthy discussions and land evaluation processes, they finally chose to select Tarrazu, the highest altitude producing region in Costa Rica. The estate is located at an altitude of 1,450-1,750 meters, with volcanic ash soil from the Irazu volcano, providing ample nutrients for the coffee trees. Meanwhile, Camilo also required the estate to maintain low-density coffee tree cultivation areas, which helps with nutrient absorption and growth of coffee trees, as well as improving cupping flavors. Currently, Tres Milagros Estate's cultivation area is about 120 hectares, with only about 300 bags of top-tier micro-batch production annually. Additionally, the estate's hardware facilities are mainly planned around four key points:

First, adopting the Green House System to provide better humidity, temperature, and ventilation for green coffee beans during the natural drying process.

Second, the Environmental Intercrop System, which provides ecological diversity to the estate by planting different plants, while also helping farmers control the farm's ecosystem.

Third is shade tree cultivation (Shade Grown System). Most of the estate uses Inga tree species combined with some other local trees, keeping coffee trees in a complete shade environment during their growth process, protecting the coffee trees' development.

Fourth is selecting the right coffee varieties. When Camilo first started cultivating at the estate, he decided to use traditional low-yield but better-flavored coffee varieties. Excellent varieties include Bourbon and Geisha, as well as F1, which is a new variety researched by the French research organization CIRAD in Costa Rica in recent years. F1 is a hybrid of Villa Sarchi+Sachimor and Sudan Rume varieties. Besides having the traditional Central American Villa Sarchi flavor, it also carries the citrus notes of the African Sudan Rume variety.

Tarrazu Region Characteristics

Tarrazu, where mountain ranges stand at extremely high altitudes reaching up to 1,975 meters, thus has relative geographical conditions that can achieve bright acidity and unique flavors in coffee. The annual average temperature is 24°C-12°C, with sufficient annual rainfall of 2,400 centimeters, and relative humidity of 84%. The humidity significantly decreases during the dry season, which can also provide a good drying environment for the green bean drying stage.

Brewing Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee suggests choosing a siphon pot to brew a pot of Costa Rican Tarrazu coffee~

Siphon Pot

The principle of siphon pot coffee extraction is mainly achieved through pressure difference. First, heat the water in the lower chamber to boiling, then insert the upper chamber, causing the lower chamber to enter a high-pressure state. Due to the pressure difference between the lower and upper chambers, hot water rises to mix with the coffee grounds in the upper chamber and extract. After the extraction process is complete, remove the heat source from the lower chamber, causing the pressure difference between the lower and upper chambers to instantly decrease, prompting the coffee extract to flow back to the lower chamber. The siphon pot is primarily immersion-based, so the brewed coffee will be more balanced with a rich mouthfeel.

Parameters & Technique

Grind size: 5R (Chinese standard No. 20 sieve pass rate 58%), water temperature 90°C, powder-to-water ratio 1:14; bloom with 30g of water for 30 seconds, when injecting water to 130g, divide into segments, when the water level is about to expose the coffee bed, continue injecting water to 226g and stop, when the water level is about to expose the coffee bed, remove the filter cup. (Timing starts from bloom) Extraction time is one minute thirty seconds.

Flavor Profile

It smells of fermentation and floral notes, with citrus, grapefruit, and passion fruit acidity upon entry, followed by almond and cream aromas in the middle section, with cane sugar sweetness, giving a feeling of fruit tea.

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