Characteristics of Costa Rican Coffee Beans - Premium Coffee Flavors

FrontStreet Coffee's Costa Rican coffee beans are full-bodied, with ideal acidity and unique, intense aroma.

Tarrazu in Costa Rica is one of the world's major coffee-producing regions, where the coffee produced has a light, pure flavor and pleasant aroma. Costa Rica's volcanic soil is extremely fertile and well-drained, making it the first country in Central America to grow coffee and bananas for commercial purposes. Coffee and bananas are the country's main export commodities. In 1729, coffee was introduced to Costa Rica from Cuba, and today, its coffee industry is one of the best-organized in the world, with yields reaching up to 1,700 kilograms per hectare. Costa Rica has a population of only 3.5 million but more than 400 million coffee trees, with coffee exports accounting for 25% of the country's total export value. Costa Rica also benefits from the Central American Agricultural Research Institute (IAAC) located in Turrialba, Tarrazu, which is an important international research center.

Costa Rican Coffee Origins

High-quality Costa Rican coffee is known as "Strictly Hard Bean" (SHB), which can grow at altitudes above 1,500 meters. Altitude has always been a challenge for coffee growers. The higher the altitude, the better the coffee beans, not only because higher altitudes increase the acidity of the beans, thereby enhancing flavor, but also because the cooler night temperatures at higher elevations slow tree growth, resulting in more concentrated coffee flavors. Additionally, the elevation differences at high altitudes create abundant rainfall, which is very beneficial for coffee tree growth. However, although there are many advantages to growing coffee at higher altitudes, the additional transportation costs must be considered, which could make coffee production unprofitable. Costa Rica's coffee industry has adopted new technologies to increase efficiency, including using "electric eyes" to select beans and identify irregularly sized coffee beans.

Tarrazu is located south of the country's capital, San José, and is one of the most valued coffee-growing areas in the country. The coffee from "La Minita Tarrazu" is a local specialty, but production is limited to approximately 72,600 kilograms annually. It is grown on land called "La Minita," which has been owned by the British McAlpine family for the last three generations. In fact, this land can produce more than 450 tons of coffee annually. However, La Minita Tarrazu coffee is grown without artificial fertilizers or pesticides, and its harvesting and selection are completed entirely by hand. This is done to avoid the damage that air-jet sorting methods can cause to coffee beans to some extent.

Other notable coffees include Juan Vinas (PR), H.Tournon, Windmill (SHB), Monte bello, and Santa Rosa. Premium coffee generally grows in Heredia and the Central Valley. Another remarkable coffee is Sarchi coffee (Sarchi is one of the five towns representing Costa Rica's "Coffee Route"), which grows on the slopes of Poas Volcano, 53 kilometers from San José. The Sarchi company was founded in 1949, with land area of 30,770 hectares, growing sugarcane and coffee. This region is also famous for handicrafts, attracting tourists from around the world.

The country's coffee industry was originally controlled by the Instituto del Café de Costa Rica (ICAFE) and has now been taken over by the Oficina del Café. Among exported coffees, those deemed unqualified are dyed with blue plant coloring before being returned for domestic sale. Coffee consumed domestically (dyed blue or undyed) accounts for approximately 10% of total production, and local per capita coffee consumption is twice that of Italy or the United States.

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