Costa Rican Coffee Beans | Introduction to Strawberry Sugar from Mirasoul Estate in Tarrazú Region

In Central America, due to its location within the coffee cultivation belt, many countries grow coffee, including several renowned coffee-producing nations such as Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, and Costa Rica. Among these, Costa Rica ranks as the world's fourteenth largest coffee producer and was the first country in Central America to cultivate coffee. Since 1989, Costa Rican law has prohibited the cultivation of Robusta coffee beans.

Costa Rica

Costa Rica is situated in the Central American isthmus, bordering Nicaragua and Panama, with the Caribbean Sea to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west, boasting a coastline of 1,290 kilometers. Costa Rica features coastal plains and rugged central highlands, with the country containing more than 200 volcanoes.

Costa Rica has a tropical and subtropical climate with distinct rainy and dry seasons throughout the year. Coffee is primarily cultivated in volcanic regions with fertile, low-acidity soil. Over 80% of coffee-growing areas are located at elevations between 800-1,700 meters, with temperatures ranging from 17°C to 28°C and annual rainfall between 2,000 to 3,000 millimeters, making it ideal for coffee cultivation. Additionally, the Costa Rican government places great importance on coffee cultivation and quality, establishing the Costa Rican Coffee Institute (ICAFE) in 1933 to research coffee varieties and cultivation methods while promoting Costa Rican coffee globally.

Tarrazú Region

Costa Rica has eight coffee-producing regions: Western Valley (Valley Central Occidental), Central Valley (Valley Central), Tarrazú, Tres Rios, Orosi, Brunca, and Turrialba. These regions are almost all distributed along the central mountain range.

Among these, the Tarrazú region is the largest and most renowned coffee-producing area in the country, and it was also the first region to receive origin certification. Located in central Costa Rica within the San José province, this region is influenced by warm, moist air currents from the Pacific Ocean, receiving annual rainfall of 2,400 millimeters. Coffee grows here at elevations of 1,500-2,100 meters in fertile volcanic soil. Due to the region's prominence, Costa Rica registered the "Café de Tarrazú" coffee origin name with the European Union and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in 2019 to protect coffee produced in this region. FrontStreet Coffee offers a washed-process Costa Rica Tarrazú coffee bean as an introductory selection, featuring light fruit acidity with flavors of sweet orange, nuts, and honey, with a smooth aftertaste.

Mirazu Estate

Mirazu Estate is a smaller coffee farm within the Tarrazú region, managed by Esteban Sanches and his family. Esteban was originally a member of the neighboring Xiaozhu Estate family, but due to his passion for and dedication to coffee, he established his own farm and named it "Mirazu," meaning "overlooking Tarrazú."

Estate owner Esteban graduated from the coffee department of Costa Rica's Agricultural University, bringing his professional knowledge to the estate. In addition to experimenting with the Ethiopian native variety ET47, Esteban personally handled the design and assembly of the small wet processing machines at the estate's processing plant.

Coffee Varieties

This particular coffee bean is quite special, composed of 50% Gesha mixed with ET47, SL28, and MAICO varieties. The Gesha variety was originally collected from the coffee forests of Ethiopia. From there, it was sent to the Lyamungu research station in Tanzania, then brought to Costa Rica's Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE) in 1953, where it was registered as T2722. After being recognized for its resistance to coffee leaf rust, it was distributed throughout Panama via CATIE in the 1960s, where it gained fame.

ET47 is a native variety from Ethiopia. In the 1990s, the Costa Rican Coffee Institute provided many varieties to farmers in the Tarrazú region as part of research on leaf rust resistance. To distinguish and identify these varieties, numbers were used as designations.

Additionally, SL28 was one of 42 varieties selected in the late 1930s when the Kenyan government commissioned the former Scott Agricultural Laboratories (now the National Agricultural Laboratories) to study yield, quality, and drought/disease resistance. "SL" stands for Scott Laboratories, and SL28 was among those selected. Genetic testing shows that SL28 originates from the Bourbon variety. Although its yield is relatively low, it possesses wonderful sweetness, complex and rich flavors, with distinctive black plum characteristics.

FrontStreet Coffee Costa Rica Mirazu Estate Strawberry Candy Coffee

Region: Tarrazú Region
Estate/Processing Plant: Mirazu Estate
Altitude: 1,700 meters
Varieties: Gesha, ET47, MAICO, SL28
Processing Method: Raisin Honey Process
Flavor Notes: Raisin, Strawberry, Candy, Rose, Cream

FrontStreet Coffee's Costa Rica Mirazu Estate Strawberry Candy coffee beans undergo raisin honey processing and are medium roasted. FrontStreet Coffee recommends brewing with V60 using a 1:15 ratio at 92°C water temperature. This brewing method reveals fresh rose aromatics, with flavors of strawberry, raisin, and almond upon tasting. The coffee exhibits exceptional sweetness with a silky mouthfeel.

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