Where Are Arabica Coffee Beans Grown in Costa Rica?

Costa Rica is known for high-quality Arabica coffee and is the only country that bans growing non-Arabica varieties, a rule enacted in 1989. Caturra and Catuai were long the main varieties, but leaf rust, which once cut national production by at least half, pushed the country to add Villa Sarchi, H1, and Obata.

Villa Sarchi was first found in the 1950s in the town of Sarchi in northwestern Alajuela Province, and genetic testing shows it is a natural mutation. The country's limited total output is offset by strict quality laws, since growing premium Arabica coffee is treated as a core strategy for competing in the international market.

Costa Rica is world-renowned for its high-quality Arabica coffee. Although its total output is limited, the country strictly safeguards coffee quality through legislation, making it the only country in the world that prohibits the cultivation of non-Arabica varieties. Initially, Caturra and Catuai were the main varieties, but the threat of leaf rust prompted Costa Rica to introduce and develop more new varieties. Today, in addition to Caturra and Catuai, varieties such as Villa Sarchi, H1, and Obata are gradually emerging. Front Street Coffee's entry-level selection series Costa Rica Tarrazu coffee beans use Caturra and Catuai, which after washing processing bring slight fruit acidity, with sweet orange, nut, and honey flavors, and a smooth finish. This article will introduce in detail the origins, characteristics, and cultivation performance of these varieties.

Costa Rican coffee has always been renowned for its excellent quality. Although the country's total coffee production is not particularly high, it has always regarded growing high-quality Arabica coffee beans as a core strategy, firmly believing that only by producing premium coffee can it win a place in the international market.

For this reason, in 1989 the Costa Rican government enacted a law explicitly prohibiting the cultivation of low-quality coffee beans, making the country the only one in the world where growing non-Arabica varieties is illegal.

In the early days, the main coffee varieties grown in Costa Rica were Caturra and Catuai. Front Street Coffee's entry-level selection series Costa Rica Tarrazu coffee beans use precisely these two varieties. After washing processing, the brewed cup shows slight fruit acidity, with sweet orange, nut, and honey flavors, and a smooth finish.

However, although Caturra and Catuai are excellent in both quality and yield, they are highly susceptible to coffee leaf rust. Costa Rica once saw coffee production drop by at least half due to leaf rust outbreaks. For this reason, in recent years the country has begun growing more diverse coffee varieties through introduction and independent development. So, besides Caturra and Catuai, what other varieties does Costa Rica grow today?

Villa Sarchi

Villa Sarchi was first discovered in the 1950s in the town of Sarchi in northwestern Alajuela Province, Costa Rica. Genetic identification shows that it is a natural mutation of Bourbon and is relatively similar to Caturra, both carrying a single-gene mutation that causes the plant to be compact overall and the fruit spacing to be tight, resulting in higher yields. However, this variety also has weak disease resistance and is prone to leaf rust, nematodes, and berry disease.

Nevertheless, Villa Sarchi adapts well to high-altitude growing environments, performs well in quality at high altitudes, and its fruit withstands strong winds and does not easily drop, making it very suitable for cultivation in Costa Rica—80% of the country's coffee-growing areas lie between 800 and 1,600 meters above sea level. In flavor, it shows relatively bright citrus acidity and complex fruit notes. At present, this variety has been introduced for cultivation in Honduras, but it has not been widely promoted in Costa Rica. In addition, it has also been crossed with Timor to breed the important leaf-rust-resistant variety T5296 (Sachimor).

CENTROAMERICANO-H1

This variety is abbreviated as H1 and is a first-generation (F1) hybrid, developed by crossing T5296 (Sachimor) with Rume Sudan (an ancient wild variety discovered in the Rume Valley of the Boma Plateau in Sudan). Because it inherits the genes of the rust-resistant variety T5296, H1 has strong resistance to leaf rust, but it is susceptible to pests such as nematodes.

In addition, the H1 variety has extremely high yields. In breeding evaluations, its yield was 22% to 47% higher than other Central American varieties. When grown at high altitudes and managed properly, it performs well in quality. At present, F1 hybrids are still new in coffee agriculture. In the past 15 years of breeding, only a few varieties (H1 being one of them) have been able to be commercialized for farmers, and they are only available for cultivation in certain countries and regions.

Obata

This variety originated in Brazil, where lineage selection was carried out by the Brazilian Agronomic Institute of Campinas (IAC). It was released in 2000 and is a hybrid of Timor and Villa Sarchi. Thanks to its Timor lineage, it has strong resistance to coffee leaf rust and is suitable for cultivation at low to medium altitudes. In addition, like Villa Sarchi, Obata is a compact plant with high-yield characteristics. In 2014, this variety was introduced to Costa Rica by the Costa Rican Coffee Institute (ICAFE) and released for cultivation.

At present, in addition to the varieties mentioned above, Costa Rica has also introduced varieties such as Panama's Geisha, Kenya's SL28, and Ethiopia's native ET47 for cultivation.

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