What are the famous estates in Costa Rica's Tarrazú region? What are their characteristics?

As the coffee industry continues to evolve, coffee processing methods have become increasingly diverse. However, the three most common processing methods on the market today remain washed, natural, and honey processing. When mentioning honey processing, everyone thinks of Costa Rica, as the term "honey processing" was first popularized from Costa Rica.

Costa Rica is a Central American country and the first in the region to begin cultivating coffee for commercial purposes. With abundant natural resources, high-altitude mountainous regions, volcanic soil, sufficient sunlight, and appropriate rainfall, Costa Rica provides ideal conditions for coffee cultivation. The coffee beans produced in this country were once called "golden beans" by British nobility.

Therefore, the country boasts many renowned coffee estates, such as Finca Las Piedra and Volcan Azul. Additionally, in recent years, several Costa Rican coffee estates have begun to emerge, such as El Cedro.

El Cedro Estate

The owner of El Cedro Estate is Johel Monge Naranjo. Nine years ago, he established the Hacienda San Isidro Labrador company and processing plant together with his son Matias. Currently operating as a family business, El Cedro Estate is one of their coffee estates, all located in the renowned Tarrazú region of Costa Rica.

Geographical Features of Costa Rica

Costa Rica is traversed centrally by the Cordillera mountain range, which separates the eastern and western regions. The Cordillera mountain range is the world's longest folded mountain system, consisting of a series of parallel mountain ranges, intermountain plateaus, and basins, with numerous volcanoes that form an important part of the Pacific Ring of Fire. Consequently, this mountain system provides Costa Rica with exceptionally rich natural resources, and all seven of the country's coffee producing regions are located in these central mountain ranges.

Tarrazú: Costa Rica's Premier Coffee Region

Tarrazú is Costa Rica's largest and most renowned coffee producing region. Located in a volcanic area, it features a humid climate and volcanic rock soil, with abundant rainfall throughout the year. Surrounded by multiple mountain ranges and national parks with dense natural forest shade, it provides an exceptionally ideal cultivation environment for coffee growth.

Tarrazú is located in the southeastern part of the country's capital, San José Province, and has a long history of coffee cultivation, including areas such as the town of Tarrazú and Dota town. The Costa Rican government highly values the coffee industry in this region. In 2019, the government registered "Café de Tarrazú" as a coffee origin certification with the European Union and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). FrontStreet Coffee's daily bean series also includes coffee from this renowned region. This entry-level selected Tarrazú coffee is made from Catuai and Caturra varieties, using the washed processing method with SHB grade. After brewing, it reveals light fruit acidity with flavors of sweet orange, nuts, and honey, with a smooth sweet aftertaste.

El Cedro Estate's Unique Environment

El Cedro Estate is located in the Tarrazú region, in the mountainous area near Dota town, at an altitude of 1,950 meters. The higher altitude and diurnal temperature variation allow for a longer coffee growth cycle and richer flavors. Additionally, it is situated near the famous Los Quetzales National Park, a birdwatching destination featuring cloud forests created by different microclimates and high altitudes, with numerous rivers. Consequently, El Cedro Estate is influenced by this environment, producing high-quality coffee beans.

Quality Achievements and Processing Methods

Furthermore, El Cedro Estate has consistently focused on cultivating and producing specialty coffee, placing great importance on coffee quality, strict technical management, and ensuring coffee traceability. The estate primarily cultivates the Geisha variety. As a result, El Cedro Estate has participated multiple times in the Costa Rican Cup of Excellence (COE) competition, consistently ranking in the top ten, and even achieving first place in the Cup of Excellence in 2017, 2019, and 2023.

Moreover, El Cedro Estate has frequently achieved high rankings using honey processing, demonstrating the importance of this method for both the estate and Costa Rica's coffee industry. Initially, Costa Rica's mountainous terrain, despite abundant rainfall, made water storage difficult, making it challenging to support water-intensive washed processing. Additionally, unlike African countries with extended periods of sunlight, natural processing also posed significant risks. Therefore, the country drew inspiration from Brazil's pulped natural method, which involves removing the fruit skin, washing with water for one hour, and then spreading it out for sun drying. Costa Rica adapted this method to its local conditions, and it eventually evolved into honey processing.

The improved honey processing method involves first removing the coffee cherry's skin and some mucilage using a depulping machine to ensure high precision. The thickness of the mucilage is precisely controlled, and then the beans are spread directly on raised drying beds without any water contact. The subdivisions into black honey, red honey, yellow honey, and white honey are distinguished by the different colors corresponding to varying degrees of mucilage retention.

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