Characteristics of Central American Coffee Regions | Tarrazú, Costa Rica - A Renowned Specialty Coffee Region

FrontStreet Coffee - Introduction to Costa Rica Tarrazu

Costa Rica sits on the low-latitude volcanic belt of Central America, with its Central Plateau and mountain regions lying at altitudes of roughly 800 to 2000 meters.

The climate here has distinct wet and dry seasons. The harvest runs from November to March of the following year and coincides with the dry season, which lets farmers collect high-quality cherries with consistent maturity. The dry season also provides ideal conditions for natural drying, while the rainy season ensures abundant rainfall. The fertile, well-drained volcanic ash soil supplies ample nutrients, and together with the advantage of high altitude it creates the perfect conditions for cultivating high-quality Costa Rican coffee.

Among Costa Rica's many excellent producing regions, one stands out: Tarrazu, also written Tarrazú. Tarrazu is extremely well known in the specialty coffee world and is one of the major coffee-producing regions globally. In the 2014 Cup of Excellence competition, 17 of the 23 winning coffees came from Tarrazú. Located in Central America's fertile volcanic belt, the region has a humid climate, fertile volcanic rock soil, abundant year-round rainfall, high altitude, and dense natural forest shade, giving coffee an exceptionally advantageous growing environment.

No pesticides or artificial fertilizers are used during cultivation. Nearly 95% of the beans produced in the Tarrazu highlands are Strictly Hard Beans (SHB), typically grown above 1500 meters.

Today the Tarrazu cooperative has 26 member estates. Among them, La Minita is one of the most prestigious coffee estates in Tarrazu. It produces about 1 million pounds of coffee beans a year, and after careful selection and defect removal only 15% of the entire estate's output can carry the La Minita mark; the rest flows into the general coffee market. Even those market-bound coffees, however, are priced higher than other coffees produced in Central America. La Minita's strict management of every aspect of production has built its world-class reputation and made it a globally renowned estate.

Knowledge Point:

Costa Rica's volcanic soil is extremely fertile and well drained. The country was the first in Central America to grow coffee and bananas for commercial value, and both remain its main export commodities.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

To taste the Tarrazú character for yourself, FrontStreet Coffee's Costa Rica Tarrazu is a direct and reliable choice. Costa Rica's high growing altitudes, wide day-night temperature swings, and surrounding volcanic soil make it a stronghold of Strictly Hard Bean (SHB) coffee, and the region's beans tend to carry an elegant aroma.

If the honey process is what interests you, FrontStreet Coffee's Costa Rica Blackberry uses a black honey process that keeps almost all the mucilage for a drying period of at least 2 weeks, giving grape, berry, and ripe blackberry flavors, while FrontStreet Coffee's Costa Rica Mozart uses a raisin honey process for raisin and blueberry sweetness with osmanthus and rose aromas, both of which shine in pour-over, cold brew, Americano, or latte.