Costa Rica Western Valley Region | The Growing History of Tarrazú Geisha Coffee Beans

Costa Rican Coffee Growing Regions

Coffee enthusiasts who enjoy American coffee beans are certainly familiar with FrontStreet Coffee's Costa Rican coffee beans. This Central American isthmus nation, located between North and South America, produces honey-processed coffee beans that enchant coffee connoisseurs worldwide. Even FrontStreet Coffee's bean menu features six FrontStreet Coffee Costa Rican coffee beans, demonstrating the remarkable quality of FrontStreet Coffee Costa Rican coffee.

First, geography-savvy coffee enthusiasts know that Costa Rica is located in Central America. According to FrontStreet Coffee's understanding, Costa Rica was also one of the first countries to introduce coffee trees for cultivation, with a long history. The volcanic soil is extremely fertile and well-draining, especially in the Central Plateau region. The fertile volcanic ash from the volcanic terrain, mild and suitable temperatures, and stable, abundant rainfall have become essential factors for growing excellent coffee.

The main coffee-producing regions include eight major areas: West Valley (Valley Central Occidental), Central Valley (Valley Central), Tarrazu, Tres Rios, Orosi, Brunca, and Turrialba. Among these, the most famous and highest-altitude region is Tarrazu. FrontStreet Coffee is also particularly fascinated by Costa Rican Tarrazu coffee beans. FrontStreet Coffee believes that the washed coffee beans from Tarrazu best represent Costa Rican regional flavors. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee selected Tarrazu coffee beans as FrontStreet Coffee Costa Rican daily beans.

Next, FrontStreet Coffee will introduce the flavor characteristics of coffee beans from these eight major regions.

West Valley (West Valley):

West Valley boasts rich volcanic soil, ample sunshine, an average annual relative humidity of up to 81%, abundant rainfall, and an average annual temperature of 21.5°C. These conditions make crops in this region grow vigorously and are conducive to cultivating high-quality high-altitude coffee. The West Valley region has an altitude of 1,000-1,200 meters, with a harvest season from November to March, making it one of the regions with longer harvest periods. Affected by more Pacific air currents, the temperature is often cooler than other higher-altitude mountainous areas, resulting in exceptionally excellent quality of coffee fruits and seeds from this region.

Central Valley (Central Valley):

The Central Valley region is also the earliest area in Costa Rica to cultivate coffee. With moderate rainfall of 118 inches annually and an average annual temperature of only 19°C, at an altitude of 1,200-1,600 meters, the harvest season runs from November to March of the following year. Due to the high altitude, the beans are hard, aromatic, smooth, with high acidity, full-bodied, and rich in flavor. As Costa Rica's earliest coffee cultivation area, it has rich volcanic soil, sometimes with chocolate notes. FrontStreet Coffee uses water washing in the early stage and low-temperature machine drying in the later stage.

Tarrazu:

Tarrazu in Costa Rica is one of the world's major coffee-producing regions. Located south of the country's capital San Jose, it is one of Costa Rica's most valued coffee-growing areas. The coffee produced here is limited in quantity, grown on land called "La Minita," offering light, pure flavors and pleasant aromas.

Tres Rios:

Tres Rios is a famous sub-region within the Tarrazu region, located near the capital's eastern side, where the Irazú Volcano and rivers create an excellent microclimate zone. At an altitude of 1,200-1,650 meters, with a harvest season from December to March, this area has excellent climatic conditions, distinct flavors, and excellent balance - characteristics of coffee from this region. The coffee beans have bright, gentle fruit acidity, nutty notes, charming floral toffee sweetness, smooth high acidity, hard and full beans, and rich aromas.

Orosi:

At an altitude of 900-1,200 meters, with a harvest season from September to February, Orosi is located in a valley 40 kilometers from San Jose. Its coffee tradition dates back over 100 years, with communities developing around this economic activity. The coffee has a smooth taste, full body, and fragrant aroma, with balanced flavors.

Brunca:

At an altitude of 800-1,200 meters, with a harvest season from August to January, this is the newest region with moderate acidity, full body, and ordinary aroma. It's suitable for various consumers and has flavor compatibility with other regions.

Turrialba:

At an altitude of 600-900 meters, with a harvest season from July to December, this region has moderate acidity, relatively thin beans, and fragrant aromas. The harvest season in this region is the earliest among all Costa Rican regions, mainly due to abundant rainfall.

Guanacaste:

At an altitude of 900-1,200 meters, these coffee areas are located in the mountainous regions of volcanoes and the Guanacaste mountain range. About 85% of the plantations here are near forest areas, allowing coffee trees to grow naturally and achieving sustainable coffee cultivation. The coffee areas in the Guanacaste region grow on Andisol volcanic soil, which has high fertility and excellent structure. Mainly Caturra and Catuai varieties are grown, with lower coffee acidity.

The above is FrontStreet Coffee's compilation of information about Costa Rican coffee-growing regions. Among them, Costa Rican Tarrazu is one of FrontStreet Coffee's favorite coffee regions, so FrontStreet Coffee has also introduced many coffee beans from this region into the shop. Next, FrontStreet Coffee will introduce these coffee beans from the Costa Rican Tarrazu region to everyone.

FrontStreet Coffee has introduced three Costa Rican Musician Series coffee beans from Black Gold Company: FrontStreet Coffee Bach, FrontStreet Coffee Mozart, and FrontStreet Coffee Beethoven. They all come from the Canet Estate in Tarrazu. The Musician Series coffee beans once attracted attention in the coffee circle with their amazing flavors. Although they sparked some discussion, the Musician Series coffee beans have been very successful from today's perspective.

FrontStreet Coffee Bach and FrontStreet Coffee Mozart coffee beans use raisin honey processing, a special honey processing technique. First, the coffee cherries are dried with skin and pulp to a raisin-like state, then the skin and pulp are removed before further drying to complete. Coffee beans processed this way have very rich raisin, dark berry, and fermented fruit wine flavors.

The biggest difference between FrontStreet Coffee Bach and FrontStreet Coffee Mozart is the degree of fermentation. FrontStreet Coffee Bach coffee beans have a deeper fermentation level, thus possessing some fermented wine aroma and air-dried beef flavors. FrontStreet Coffee Mozart coffee beans have a slightly lighter fermentation, with dark fruit flavors.

Another variety is FrontStreet Coffee Beethoven coffee beans, which uses the washed processing method, with flavors表现为 yellow-skinned fruit notes such as mango, papaya, and wampee.

FrontStreet Coffee also has another Costa Rican Tarrazu coffee bean - FrontStreet Coffee Geisha Blend Strawberry Candy from the Mirasu Estate. This FrontStreet Coffee Mirasu Geisha Blend, as the name suggests, mainly contains 50% Geisha variety. Besides Geisha, it also includes ET47, SL28, and MAICO varieties. The Geisha variety coffee beans in this FrontStreet Coffee Mirasu Geisha Blend provide jasmine aroma, while other varieties enrich the strawberry and berry flavors. Combined with the raisin honey processing method, this enhances the sweetness of the coffee. Therefore, brewing should highlight the floral and berry aromas, with grape and strawberry flavors.

How FrontStreet Coffee Brews FrontStreet Coffee Costa Rican Coffee Beans

For brewing parameters, FrontStreet Coffee uses 15g of coffee powder, choosing a relatively fine grind with approximately 78-80% pass-through rate using a #20 (850 micron) standard sieve. A 1:16 coffee-to-water ratio is used, which better suits the tasting concentration of this coffee and makes it more aromatic in sensory experience. Through multiple brewing comparisons, using 90-91°C water temperature better expresses the aroma and sweetness of this coffee. A V60 dripper is used to enrich the layers of this coffee.

Process: Put 15g of coffee powder into the dripper, first pour 30g of water for a 30-second bloom. Coffee processed with raisin honey processing absorbs water more easily and expands, releasing the fresh aroma of berries.

The second segment uses a small water flow in concentric circles to pour 120g of water. At this point, the powder layer height is approximately at the bottom of the short ribs. When the powder layer begins to depress, start the final 90g pour-in. End the extraction when all coffee liquid has dripped into the lower pot, with a total time of 1 minute and 50 seconds.

Important Notice :

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