What defines Costa Rica's coffee producing regions?

Costa Rica grows clean, sweet arabica coffee with bright acidity, thanks to high altitude, volcanic soil, and microclimates. Coffee arrived from Cuba in 1729, and after independence in 1821 the government backed the industry with tax exemptions and land ownership for planters. Eight major producing regions now cover Caturra, Catuai, Geisha, and Bourbon varieties.

Beans are graded by the altitude where they were grown, which tracks with cup quality and density. In 1948 the government created a dedicated coffee department, now ICAFE, to oversee the industry. Cupping notes and pour-over suggestions for areas such as Tarrazu and West Valley give a starting point for anyone learning coffee producing regions.

Costa Rica is an important specialty coffee producing country in Central America. Thanks to its high altitude, volcanic soil, and microclimates, it cultivates clean, sweet Arabica coffee with bright acidity. This article reviews its coffee-growing history and policy evolution, introduces the eight major producing regions and main varieties, including Caturra, Catuai, Geisha, and Bourbon, and explains the altitude-based grading system. It also combines Front Street Coffee's cupping and brewing experience to provide flavor references and pour-over suggestions for regions such as Tarrazu and West Valley, making it suitable for coffee enthusiasts who want a systematic understanding of Costa Rican coffee.

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When Costa Rica is mentioned, many people first think of Godzilla, though of course that is just a joke. In fact, Costa Rica is located in Latin America and is a presidential republic, bordered by Nicaragua to the north and Panama to the south. The country has high altitude, diverse microclimates, and fertile volcanic soil with good drainage, providing ideal conditions for the growth of Arabica coffee trees.

Costa Rican Coffee Growing History

In 1729, Costa Rica introduced its first coffee tree from Cuba, and afterward the country also became a country in Central America that grew coffee for its commercial value. After Costa Rica gained independence from Spain in 1821, the local government introduced a series of policies to strongly support the coffee industry. At that time, only more than a century had passed since coffee was introduced, but about 70,000 coffee trees had already been planted, showing just how rapid the development was.

To encourage cultivation, the Costa Rican government implemented a tax exemption policy in 1825. In 1832, a decree was also issued locally: "Cultivate coffee and the land is yours," meaning that if a coffee farmer planted coffee on any vacant and unoccupied land, they could directly obtain ownership of that land. This greatly promoted coffee cultivation and indirectly explains why Costa Rican coffee today mostly comes from privately owned estates.

In 1948, the Costa Rican government established a dedicated coffee department, namely the Costa Rican Coffee Industry Company ICAFE (Instituto del Café de Costa Rica, now taken over by the official coffee committee Oficina del Café), mainly to guide estates in improving cultivation, post-processing, and sales systems. The country is also very meticulous in handling coffee for export, so Costa Rican coffee beans are relatively stable in quality and relatively balanced in flavor.

As production increased, quality could easily become uneven, which in turn affected competitiveness. To improve coffee quality and value, in the early 20th century the Costa Rican government revised the decree: coffee farms or plantations within the country could only grow the Arabica species, thereby enhancing competitiveness. In 1989, the government formally passed a law prohibiting the cultivation of inferior bean types and encouraging farmers to pursue coffee beans of truly excellent quality, which is also the reason Costa Rica has long grown only Arabica.

It is worth mentioning that this decree was jointly decided and promoted by government departments and two well-known Costa Rican research institutes, namely CATIE (the Central American Agricultural Research Center composed of multiple countries) and ICAFE (the Costa Rican Coffee Institute). CATIE was established in 1942, while ICAFE was created as early as 1933. The two have not only contributed to Costa Rican coffee cultivation, but have also made outstanding contributions to coffee throughout Central and South American producing regions.

Costa Rican Coffee Producing Regions

Costa Rican coffee cultivation is mainly distributed across 8 producing regions, namely the eight major coffee producing regions: West Valley, Central Valley, Tarrazu, Tres Rios, Orosi, Brunca, Turrialba, and Guanacaste.

Costa Rica's specialty coffee producing regions are mainly distributed in West Valley, Central Valley, and Tarrazu, in areas at altitudes of 1,200-2,000 m.

Coffee from Costa Rican Producing Regions Flavor Characteristics

The nutrients in volcanic ash in these areas create fertile soil. In addition, the year-round pleasant temperature, maintained at 19 degrees, is very suitable for growing coffee, and the abundant rainfall gives the coffee in this region a very pure and sweet character, with a fascinating balance of layers in both acidity and mouthfeel.

Through comparative cupping by FrontStreet Coffee, it has been found that coffee from the Tarrazu producing region shows very good cleanliness, with bright acidity and a profile reminiscent of citrus and berries. Representative coffee beans include "FrontStreet Coffee Staple Bean Series - Costa Rica Tarrazu Coffee Beans," "FrontStreet - Musician Series Mozart Coffee Beans," "FrontStreet - Musician Series Bach Coffee Beans," and "FrontStreet - Tarrazu Estate Strawberry Candy Coffee Beans."

The acidity of coffee beans from the West Valley producing region is not as pronounced as that from the Tarrazu producing region, and the mouthfeel is also relatively balanced, with a finish of nuts and caramel. Coffee from the Central Valley producing region, meanwhile, has a very pure and sweet flavor expression, with a fascinating balance of layers in both acidity and mouthfeel.

Costa Rican Coffee Bean Varieties

Costa Rica mainly grows Caturra, Catuai, and Geisha varieties, and also grows a small amount of Bourbon, Villa Sarchi, and other varieties.

Caturra is a mutation of Bourbon, discovered in Brazil in 1937. Its productivity and disease resistance are both better than Bourbon, and the tree is shorter, making harvesting easier. It has strong adaptability and does not require shade trees. It is suitable for planting from low altitudes of 700 meters to high altitudes of 1,700 meters, with very strong altitude adaptability, but the higher the altitude, the better the flavor, while productivity relatively decreases.

Catuai is a coffee variety artificially hybridized in 1949 from yellow Caturra and Mundo Novo, originally called "H-2077." Catuai has relatively good resistance to disasters, especially resistance to wind and rain. Because the plant is smaller, it can be planted at twice the density, and since the plant is short, it is relatively easy to treat pests and diseases. Catuai grows vigorously and is short in height, but it is susceptible to leaf rust.

Geisha was discovered in 1931 in the Geisha forest of Ethiopia. It was later sent to the coffee research institute in Kenya, introduced to Uganda and Tanzania in 1936, and introduced to Costa Rica in 1953. Geisha coffee has very delicate floral and fruity acidity, and Geisha grown at high altitude has a very alluring flavor.

Bourbon coffee was first planted in Reunion, which was also called Bourbon Island before 1789. In 1860, the Bourbon variety was introduced to farms in Brazil and quickly spread northward to other regions of South America and Central America. Bourbon planted at high altitude usually has better aroma, while the acidity is brighter, and it can even taste somewhat like red wine.

Villa Sarchi is a Bourbon mutation. This naturally mutated green-tipped dwarf Bourbon variety was discovered in Costa Rica in 1950, after which pedigree selection was carried out (by selecting individual plants over successive generations), but this variety was not widely planted in Costa Rica. Instead, in 1974 it was introduced to Honduras by the Honduran Coffee Institute (IHCAFE). In terms of aroma, it is a coffee with quite high complexity and is suitable for medium-dark roasting. After grinding, the dry fragrance carries the aroma of perfume-like floral nectar and cherries, mixed with sweet spices like cinnamon.

Villalobos originated in Costa Rica and is a Typica mutation. Like Typica, the angle between the branches and the trunk is 60 degrees, and the leaves are bronze-colored. This variety grows especially well at high altitudes, has strong wind resistance, and can also grow in poor soil, while growing even better under shade trees. Its most notable flavor characteristics are its excellent sweetness and beautiful acidity.

Costa Rican Coffee Bean Grading

Costa Rican coffee beans are mainly graded by growing altitude. The higher the altitude, the denser the coffee and the harder the texture of the beans. The Costa Rican coffee beans sold by FrontStreet Coffee are all SHB grade.

How to brew Costa Rican coffee so it tastes good?

For brewing parameters, Front Street selected 15 g of coffee grounds, chose a relatively fine grind, with a passing rate of about 78-80% using the Chinese No. 20 standard sieve. The coffee-to-water ratio used was 1:15.

Through several brewing comparisons, using a water temperature of 90-91°C better brings out this coffee's aroma and sweetness. A V60 dripper was used, with the aim of enriching this coffee's sense of layers～

The brewing method is as follows: in the first stage, pour 30 grams of water for blooming, with a blooming time of 30 seconds; in the second stage, pour water until about 125 grams, then wait for the coffee liquid to drop; when it has dropped by half, pour the final stage of water until 225 grams, and end extraction after all the coffee has dripped through. The total extraction time is generally about 2 minutes and 10 seconds.

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.