The Story of Costa Rica Bourbon Coffee and How to Brew the Perfect Cup of Six Major Coffee Varieties Including Caturra

Typical coffee varieties produced in Costa Rica: Typica, Caturra, Catuai, Villa Sarchi, Bourbon, and Geisha.

FrontStreet Coffee's Costa Rican Coffee Selection

The main Costa Rican coffee varieties sourced by FrontStreet Coffee are Caturra and Catuai. Today, we'll focus on introducing you to why Costa Rica produces some of the world's finest coffee varieties and how to brew these exceptional coffee beans!

Highly regarded Costa Rican coffee typically comes from the Caturra plant variety (Coffea arabica var. caturra), sometimes Catuai, featuring excellent body—often full-bodied—along with rich, intense flavors and crisp acidity. Particularly, Costa Rica's finest coffee beans are renowned for their superior quality, bright fruit-like acidity, and clean, refreshing taste.

Notable Coffee Varieties in Costa Rica

Like all Arabica coffee, the Typica group should have originated in southwestern Ethiopia. At some point in the 15th or 16th century, it was brought to Yemen. By 1700, seeds from Yemen began to be cultivated in India. In 1696 and 1699, coffee seeds were sent from India's Malabar Coast to Batavia Island (today known as Java in Indonesia). These few seeds were what produced the distinctive Typica variety we know today. In the late 18th century, cultivation spread to the Caribbean region (Cuba, Puerto Rico, Santo Domingo), Mexico, and Colombia, and from there to Central America (planted in El Salvador as early as 1740). Until the 1940s, most coffee plantations in South and Central America grew Typica.

Bourbon was first introduced to the Americas in 1860, arriving near Campinas in southern Brazil. From there, it spread northward to Central America.

Like Caturra and Pacas, Villa Sarchi (also known as La Luisa or Villalobos Bourbon) is a natural mutation of the Bourbon population, with a single gene mutation that causes the plant to become smaller (called "dwarfism"). This variety was discovered in the 1950s or 1960s in the northwestern region of Alajuela province, Costa Rica, and subsequently underwent pedigree selection there (selecting individual plants through successive generations). It has not been widely cultivated outside of Costa Rica.

Another coffee plant variety grown in Costa Rica is called Sarchimor, a hybrid between the Timor variety and the Costa Rican Villa Sarchi variety (Coffea arabica var. villa sarchi). Due to characteristics inherited from the Timor variety (itself a hybrid of Coffea canephora and Coffea arabica), Sarchimor has remarkable resistance to coffee leaf rust disease and coffee berry borer insects. Sarchimor varieties grow in India and Costa Rica.

Tarrazú Region: Costa Rica's Premier Coffee Region

Produced in Costa Rica's Tarrazú region—one of the world's most famous coffee-growing areas—the coffee exhibits clean, pure flavors and pleasant aromas. Caturra and Catuai varieties are widely cultivated here, and now FrontStreet Coffee will lead everyone on an exploration:

FrontStreet Coffee's coffee beans use medium roasting, making the sweet orange fruit flavors particularly prominent. Due to the roasting level, there may be varying notes, but of course, the coffee quality ensures it presents honey-like sweetness in the aftertaste.

Important Notice :

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