How Does Coffee Cultivation Shape Finca Coffee Garden Beans?

Finca Coffee Garden was established in 1989 in Costa Rica's West Valley, near a volcanic zone west of San José, and its washed green beans show the clean, balanced profile the region is known for. The estate built its own processing facility in 2005, and in 2008 its coffee was judged the country's top entry in the COE.

Costa Rica's coffee cultivation history and its eight producing regions give the country a wide range of cup profiles. On the estate, Red Catuai and Yellow Catuai trees underwent a natural mutation producing orange fruit, drawing attention from the international coffee community. Brewing suits a medium roast and a standard pour-over ratio.

Costa Rica is an important coffee-producing country in Central America, home to numerous specialty coffee estates, and Finca Coffee Garden is one of them. Since its establishment in 1989, this estate has earned high recognition in both domestic and international COE in 2008, thanks to its superior geographical environment and continuous technological investment. Even more remarkable is that some Red Catuai and Yellow Catuai coffee trees within the estate underwent natural mutations, producing rare orange fruits that attracted widespread attention in the international coffee community. This article will guide you through the development history of Finca Coffee Garden, outline Costa Rica's coffee cultivation history, the distribution of its eight major producing regions, the characteristics of its main varieties, and its grading system, and include brewing suggestions from Front Street Coffee, providing a complete reference guide for coffee enthusiasts.

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Costa Rica is located in Central and South America and is a coffee-producing country with numerous coffee estates across its territory. Today, we will introduce one of its distinctive estates—Finca Coffee Garden.

According to Front Street, Finca Coffee Garden was established in 1989 and is located in the West Valley region west of Costa Rica's capital, San José, near a volcanic zone—a geographical location that helps coffee develop unique flavors. In 2005, Maria Mayela Quesada decided to build her own processing facility on the estate, bringing all coffee cherries under autonomous processing. After years of relentless effort, the results gradually emerged—in 2008, the estate's coffee was judged the best in the country, earning recognition from both domestic and international COE. This year, Finca Coffee Garden also exhibited a particularly striking phenomenon: several hectares of coffee trees underwent natural mutations, with the original Red Catuai and Yellow Catuai unexpectedly mutating into orange fruits, whose flavors have also received widespread praise.

When mentioning the name Costa Rica, many people can't help but think of Godzilla, right? 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 region has high elevation, diverse microclimates, and fertile volcanic soil with good drainage, making it very suitable for growing Arabica coffee trees.

Costa Rican Coffee Cultivation History

In 1729, the first coffee tree was introduced to Costa Rica from Cuba, after which the country became the first in Central America to cultivate coffee for 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 about a century had passed since coffee was introduced, yet the number of coffee trees planted had already reached approximately 70,000, demonstrating the remarkable pace of development.

To encourage coffee cultivation, the Costa Rican government implemented a tax exemption policy in 1825. In 1832, the government further issued a decree: "Those who cultivate coffee shall own the land," meaning that coffee farmers who planted coffee on any vacant and unoccupied land would directly obtain ownership of that land. This decree inspired a large number of people to dedicate themselves to coffee cultivation, driving the industry's development, and also explains why coffee in Costa Rica today mostly comes from private estates.

In 1948, the Costa Rican government established a dedicated coffee department (namely the Costa Rican Coffee Industry Corporation ICAFE: Instituto del Café de Costa Rica, now overseen by the Official Coffee Commission Oficina del Café), mainly to help estates improve every aspect from planting and post-processing to the sales system. The country is equally meticulous in handling coffee for export, so Costa Rican coffee beans have relatively stable quality and well-balanced flavors.

It is not hard to imagine that after production increased, quality could easily become uneven, thereby affecting competitiveness. To improve coffee quality and value, in the early 20th century, the Costa Rican government revised its laws: all coffee farms or plantations within the country could only grow Arabica varieties, in order to enhance competitiveness. In 1989, the government formally passed a law prohibiting the cultivation of inferior bean varieties and encouraging farmers to pursue truly excellent-quality coffee beans—this is why the country has long grown only Arabica.

It is worth mentioning that this law was decided upon and implemented jointly by government departments and two renowned Costa Rican research institutions: CATIE (Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza, a multinational agricultural research center) and ICAFE (Costa Rican Coffee Institute). CATIE was founded in 1942, while ICAFE was established as early as 1933. They have not only contributed to Costa Rican coffee cultivation but also made outstanding contributions to coffee across the entire Central and South American producing regions.

Costa Rican Coffee Producing Regions

Costa Rican coffee cultivation is mainly distributed across 8 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, at elevations of 1,200-2,000m.

Flavor Characteristics of Coffee from Costa Rican Producing Regions

The volcanic ash nutrients in these areas create fertile soil, and combined with pleasant year-round temperatures maintained at around 19°C—quite suitable for growing coffee—and abundant rainfall, the coffee from this region has a very pure and sweet character, with an alluring layered balance in both acidity and mouthfeel.

Through comparative cupping by Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee), it was found that coffee from the Tarrazu region exhibits excellent cleanliness and bright acidity, with citrus and berry-like notes. Representative beans include "Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) Daily Bean Series - Costa Rica Tarrazu Coffee Beans," "Front Street - Musician Series Mozart Coffee Beans," "Front Street - Musician Series Bach Coffee Beans," and "Front Street - Tarrazu Estate Strawberry Candy Coffee Beans."

The acidity of coffee beans from the West Valley region is less pronounced than that of the Tarrazu region, and the mouthfeel is more balanced, with a finish of nuts and caramel. Coffee from the Central Valley region, meanwhile, shows a very pure and sweet flavor, with an alluring layered balance in both acidity and mouthfeel.

Costa Rican Coffee Bean Varieties

Costa Rica mainly cultivates Caturra, Catuai, and Geisha varieties, with small amounts of Bourbon, Villa Sarchi, and others also grown.

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

Catuai is a coffee variety artificially hybridized in 1949 from Yellow Caturra and Mundo Novo, initially called "H-2077." Catuai has relatively good resistance to disasters, especially wind and rain. Because the plants are smaller, they can be planted at twice the density, and being short, they are relatively easier to treat for pests and diseases. Catuai grows vigorously and is short in height, but is susceptible to leaf rust.

Geisha was discovered in 1931 in the Geisha forest of Ethiopia, then 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 elevations has an extremely alluring flavor.

Bourbon coffee was first planted on Réunion, which was also known as Bourbon Island before 1789. In 1860, Bourbon was introduced to Brazilian farms and quickly spread northward to other regions of South America and Central America. Bourbon grown at high elevations typically has better aroma and brighter acidity, with a flavor even reminiscent of red wine.

Villa Sarchi is a Bourbon mutation. This green-tipped dwarf natural mutation of Bourbon was discovered in Costa Rica in 1950, after which pedigree selection was carried out (selecting individual plants through successive generations). However, this variety was not widely cultivated 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 of considerable complexity, suitable for medium-dark roasting. The dry aroma after grinding carries notes of perfumed nectar and cherry, interwoven 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 particularly well at high elevations and has strong wind resistance. It can also grow in poor soil, and grows even better under shade trees. Its most notable flavor characteristics are excellent sweetness and beautiful acidity.

Costa Rican Coffee Bean Grading

Costa Rican coffee beans are mainly graded by cultivation elevation—the higher the elevation, the denser the coffee and the harder the bean texture. The Costa Rican coffee beans sold by Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) are all SHB grade.

How to Brew Costa Rican Coffee for the Best Taste?

For brewing parameters, Front Street chose 15g of coffee grounds, with a relatively fine grind size, passing through a Chinese No. 20 standard sieve at approximately 78-80%. The coffee-to-water ratio used is 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 is used to enrich this coffee's layering~

The brewing method is as follows: In the first stage, pour 30g of water for blooming, with a blooming time of 30 seconds. In the second stage, pour water until approximately 125g, then wait for the coffee liquid to drop. When it has dropped by half, pour the final stage of water up to 225g. Wait for all the coffee to finish dripping before ending the extraction. The total extraction time is generally around 2 minutes and 10 seconds.

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