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Introduction to Costa Rica's Eight Major Coffee Growing Regions: Flavor Characteristics of Tarrazú Raisin Honey Process Coffee Beans

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/27, For more professional coffee knowledge and coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style). Coffee flavor: Costa Rican coffee is typically very clean and sweet, but with an elegant body. In recent years, many processing plants have begun to produce coffees with diverse tastes and styles. Coffee has been cultivated since the early 19th century.

Coffee enthusiasts who enjoy American coffee beans are surely 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 captivate coffee lovers worldwide. Even FrontStreet Coffee's bean list features six FrontStreet Coffee Costa Rican coffee beans, demonstrating that the quality of FrontStreet Coffee Costa Rican coffee should not be underestimated.

Costa Rican Coffee Bean Growing Regions

First, coffee lovers familiar with geography know that Costa Rica is located in Central America. According to FrontStreet Coffee, Costa Rica was also one of the first countries to introduce coffee trees for cultivation, with a long history. The volcanic soil is very fertile and has good drainage. Especially in the Central Plateau, the volcanic terrain's fertile volcanic ash, mild and suitable temperatures, and stable, abundant rainfall have become essential factors for growing excellent coffee.

The main coffee-producing regions include West Valley, Central Valley, Tarrazu, Tres Rios, Orosi, Brunca, and Turrialba - eight major regions. Among them, the most famous and highest-altitude region is Tarrazu. FrontStreet Coffee is also very fascinated by Costa Rican Tarrazu coffee beans. FrontStreet Coffee believes that the washed coffee beans produced in Tarrazu best represent Costa Rican regional flavors. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee has selected Tarrazu coffee beans as its FrontStreet Coffee Costa Rican daily coffee.

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

West Valley

West Valley has rich volcanic soil, ample sunlight, an average annual relative humidity as high as 81%, abundant rainfall, and an average annual temperature of 21.5°C, making crops in this area grow vigorously and also conducive to cultivating high-altitude quality coffee. The West Valley region has an altitude of 1,000-1,200 meters and a harvest season from November to March, making it a region with a relatively long harvest period. Affected by more Pacific air currents, the temperature is often cooler than other mountain areas at higher altitudes. Therefore, the coffee fruits and seeds produced in this region are of excellent quality.

Central Valley

The Central Valley region is also the earliest area in Costa Rica where coffee was cultivated. It has moderate rainfall with an annual rainfall of 118 inches and an average annual temperature of only 19°C. With an altitude of 1,200-1,600 meters and a harvest season from November to March of the following year, the high altitude results in hard beans with sufficient aroma, smoothness, high acidity, full body, and rich flavor. This region's coffee is Costa Rica's earliest coffee cultivation area, with rich volcanic soil that sometimes carries chocolate aromas. The front stage uses washing, while the later stage uses machine low-temperature drying.

Tarrazu

Costa Rica's Tarrazu is one of the world's major coffee-producing regions. Tarrazu is located south of the country's capital, San Jose, and is one of the country's most valued coffee-growing areas. The coffee produced here is limited in quantity. It is grown on land called "La Minita," and its flavor is light and pure, with a pleasant aroma.

Tres Rios

Tres Rios is a famous small production area within the Tarrazu region, located not far east of the capital, where the Irazu volcano and rivers create an excellent microclimate zone. With an altitude of 1,200-1,650 meters and a harvest season from December to March, this area has good climatic conditions, distinct taste, and very good balance, which are the characteristics of coffee in this region. The coffee beans have bright, gentle fruit acidity that isn't sharp, with nuts, floral, and toffee sweet aromas that are charming, smooth high acidity, hard and full beans, and rich fragrance.

Orosi

With an altitude of 900-1,200 meters and a harvest season from September to February, Orosi is located in a valley 40 kilometers from San Jose. Its coffee tradition can be traced back more than 100 years, and the community has developed around this economic activity. The taste is smooth, with full body and fragrant aroma. The coffee has a smooth taste with sufficient balance.

Brunca

With an altitude of 800-1,200 meters and a harvest season from August to January, this region has general acidity, full body, and ordinary aroma. It is the newest production area, suitable for various consumers, and its taste is compatible with other regions.

Turrialba

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

Guanacaste

With an altitude of 900-1,200 meters, these coffee areas are located in the mountainous regions of volcanoes and the Guanacaste mountain range. Approximately 85% of the plantations here are near forest areas, allowing coffee trees to grow naturally and achieve 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, and the coffee has lower acidity.

The above is FrontStreet Coffee's organized introduction to 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 its store. Next, FrontStreet Coffee will introduce several coffee beans from the Costa Rican Tarrazu region to everyone.

FrontStreet Coffee has introduced three Costa Rican Musician Series coffee beans represented by 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 also sparked some discussion, it now appears that the Musician Series coffee beans have been very successful.

FrontStreet Coffee Bach and FrontStreet Coffee Mozart coffee beans use raisin honey processing, which is a special honey processing technique. First, the coffee cherries are dried to a raisin-like state with skin and pulp intact, then the skin and pulp are removed, and finally dried to completion. 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 level, with dark fruit flavors.

There is also FrontStreet Coffee Beethoven coffee beans, which use the washed processing method and display flavors of yellow-skinned fruits such as mango, papaya, and wampee.

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

How FrontStreet Coffee Brews FrontStreet Coffee Costa Rican Coffee Beans

For brewing parameters, FrontStreet Coffee selected 15g of coffee powder, with a relatively fine grind using a #20 (850 micron) standard sieve with approximately 78-80% pass rate. A coffee-to-water ratio of 1:16 is used - expanding to 1:16 is more suitable for the tasting concentration of this coffee and will be more aromatic in terms of sensory experience. Through multiple brewing comparisons, using water temperature of 90-91°C better reflects the aroma and sweetness of this coffee. A V60 dripper is used to enrich the layering 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 and expands more easily, subsequently emitting the fresh aroma of berries.

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

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