Where are coffee beans grown in Costa Rica?
Costa Rican coffee is grown in high-altitude areas such as Tarrazú, south of the capital San José, where volcanic ash soil, mild temperatures, and even rainfall support Arabica. Finca Tres Milagros in Tarrazú was created by Hacienda San Tuario owner Camilo together with the Facusse family of the Dinant company as a specialty project.
Coffee reached Costa Rica from Cuba in 1729, and the country now yields about 1,700 kilograms per hectare, with exports making up 25% of total exports. The estate's approach covers altitude selection, planting density, a green house system, intercropping, shade growing, and variety choice, all shaping the green coffee bean produced there.
Costa Rica, with its volcanic terrain, mild climate, and consistent rainfall, has become a key player on the global specialty coffee map. This article focuses on Finca Tres Milagros in the Tarrazu region, telling the story of how Hacienda San Tuario owner Camilo and the Facusse family of the Dinant company joined forces to create this specialty project, and offers an in-depth analysis of the estate's distinctive approaches to altitude selection, planting density, the green house system, intercropping symbiosis, shade growing, and variety selection. Front Street Coffee also brings you purchasing information for this bean.
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Costa Rica's coffee industry owes much to its exceptional natural conditions: the fertile ash soil left by volcanic eruptions, moderate temperatures, and abundant rainfall evenly distributed throughout the year. Together, these factors have propelled coffee into the ranks of the country's major agricultural products. All coffee produced here is Arabica, with a clean, pure flavor and a delightful aroma, achieving a near-perfect balance between acidity and body.
Coffee beans grown in Costa Rica's high-altitude regions enjoy an international reputation, with a rich, mellow taste and soft flavor, yet notably bright acidity. Local processing of coffee beans is extremely meticulous, and it is precisely this that gives rise to high-quality coffee. Tarrazu is located south of the capital, San José, and is one of the country's most closely watched coffee-growing regions, while also holding a place among the world's major coffee origins.
Coffee was introduced to Costa Rica from Cuba in 1729. Today, the country's coffee industry has become one of the most highly organized in the world, with yields reaching 1,700 kilograms per hectare. Costa Rica has a population of only 3.5 million, yet there are as many as 400 million coffee trees, and coffee exports account for 25% of the nation's total exports. The volcanic soil is fertile with excellent drainage, especially in the Central Plateau, where the soil layers are interspersed with multiple thick bands of volcanic ash and dust. Costa Rican coffee beans are plump, with just the right acidity and a rich, distinctive aroma.
Costa Rica Finca Tres Milagros
In the specialty coffee world, whenever Hacienda San Tuario owner Camilo is mentioned, most people would agree: thanks to his extraordinary passion for coffee growing and his daring, innovative spirit, he has over the years become a partner to many of the world's top baristas. In 2013, the Facusse family, owners of the Dinant company, which had long operated a food sales business in Costa Rica, decided to draw on Camilo's experience in successfully running an estate in Colombia and jointly launch a brand-new estate project in Costa Rica, naming it "Finca Tres Milagros." Camilo believes that all successful estates depend on the interplay and collaboration of three elements—coffee trees, farmers, and land—and this is the origin of the name "Tres Milagros."
When planning the Costa Rican estate, site selection was regarded as the most critical and decisive step. After repeated discussions and land assessments, the highest-altitude producing region in Costa Rica, Tarrazu, was ultimately chosen. The estate sits at an altitude of between 1,450 and 1,750 meters, with soil of volcanic ash origin from the Irazu volcano, providing ample nutrients for the coffee trees. At the same time, Camilo required the estate to maintain a relatively low coffee planting density, which is more conducive to the coffee trees absorbing nutrients and growing healthily, and also significantly helps improve cup profile. At present, Finca Tres Milagros has a planted area of about 120 hectares, with annual top micro-lot production of only about 300 bags. The planning of the estate's infrastructure revolves mainly around four key points:
First, adopting the Green House System to provide more ideal humidity, temperature, and ventilation conditions for green coffee beans during the sun-drying stage.
Second, establishing an Intercrop System to enrich the estate's ecological diversity by planting different species, while also helping farmers better control the farm ecosystem.
Third, implementing a Shade Grown System. Most of the estate uses Inga trees, paired with some other local trees, so that the coffee trees remain in a good shaded environment throughout their entire growth cycle, thereby protecting their normal development.
Fourth, choosing the right coffee varieties. From the very beginning of establishing the estate, Camilo decided to adopt traditional low-yield but better-flavored varieties. In addition to excellent varieties such as Bourbon and Geisha, F1 is also a new variety developed in Costa Rica in recent years by the French research organization CIRAD. F1 is a cross between Villa Sarchi + Sachimor and Sudan Rume, preserving the flavor of the traditional Central American Villa Sarchi while also carrying the citrus-like notes of the African variety Sudan Rume.
Purchase link: https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a1z10.3-c-s.w4002-15673140470.33.68714ea9TMnzDQ&id=565357721039
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
