Which Costa Rican Coffee Producing Regions Stand Out?

Coffee reached Costa Rica from Cuba in 1729, and the country became one of Central America's earliest commercial growers. After independence in 1821, the government backed the crop directly: a tax exemption in 1825 and an 1832 law granting land ownership to anyone who planted coffee on vacant land. Roughly 70,000 trees had already been planted nationwide within about a century of introduction.

Costa Rica's coffee producing regions sit mainly in the central highlands, where volcanic soil and microclimates suit Arabica. Legislation restricts planting to Arabica only, and institutions such as ICAFE and CATIE push quality improvement. The country also grades coffee by altitude. For comparison, coffee originated from which country is often answered with Ethiopia, but Costa Rica's introduction line runs through Cuba.

Although Costa Rica is often jokingly referred to as a homophone of "Godzilla," it is a pivotal specialty coffee-producing country in Central America. Since the first coffee seedling was introduced from Cuba in 1729, this country has forged an indissoluble bond with coffee. High altitudes, microclimates, and fertile volcanic soil provide unique growing conditions for Arabica. From government tax exemptions encouraging cultivation, to legislation limiting planting to Arabica only, to institutions like ICAFE and CATIE promoting quality improvement, Costa Rica has embarked on a path of quality first. This article will guide you through its introduction history, the terroir differences of its eight major producing regions, main cultivated varieties, and the altitude-based grading system, along with brewing suggestions from Front Street Coffee.

When Costa Rica is mentioned, many people's first thought might be the giant monster Godzilla from movies. But on the geographical map, it is a presidential republic located in Latin America, bordering Nicaragua to the north and Panama to the south. This country has high altitudes, diverse microclimates, and fertile, well-draining volcanic soil, creating an ideal environment for the growth of Arabica coffee trees.

Costa Rica Coffee Planting History

In 1729, coffee was first introduced to Costa Rica from Cuba, and thereafter the country became one of the earliest in Central America to cultivate coffee for commercial purposes. After Costa Rica gained independence from Spanish rule in 1821, the local government immediately launched a series of policy measures to strongly support the coffee industry. At this time, only about a hundred years had passed since coffee was introduced, yet approximately 70,000 coffee trees had already been planted nationwide, showing how rapid the development momentum was.

To incentivize more people to engage in coffee cultivation, the Costa Rican government introduced a tax exemption policy in 1825. By 1832, the authorities went further and enacted a law: "Those who cultivate coffee shall own the land," meaning that as long as coffee farmers planted coffee on unoccupied vacant land, they could directly obtain ownership of that land. This decree greatly stimulated the public's enthusiasm for planting, promoted the expansion of the coffee industry, and indirectly explains why most Costa Rican coffee today comes from private estates.

In 1948, the Costa Rican government established a dedicated coffee department—the Costa Rican Coffee Institute (ICAFE: Instituto del Café de Costa Rica, now taken over by the official coffee commission Oficina del Café), whose main responsibility is to assist estates in improving all aspects from cultivation and post-processing to the sales system. In the processing of exported coffee, the country is equally meticulous, so Costa Rican coffee beans have relatively stable quality and balanced flavor.

It is easy to imagine that as production increased, quality could become uneven, thereby affecting competitiveness. To improve coffee quality and value, in the early 20th century the Costa Rican government revised regulations: all coffee farms or plantations within the country could only grow Arabica varieties, to enhance competitiveness. In 1989, the government officially passed a law prohibiting the cultivation of inferior beans and encouraging farmers to pursue truly exceptional coffee quality—this is why Costa Rica has long grown only Arabica.

It is worth noting that this decree was jointly decided and implemented by government departments and two well-known 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. Both have not only contributed greatly to Costa Rica's coffee cultivation but also played an indispensable role in the coffee development of the entire Central and South American producing regions.

Costa Rica Coffee Producing Regions

Costa Rica 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 altitudes of 1200-2000m.

Costa Rica Producing Region Coffee Flavor Characteristics

The nutrients from volcanic ash in these areas create fertile soil, combined with pleasant year-round temperatures maintained at 19 degrees, which is quite suitable for growing coffee, and abundant rainfall, resulting in coffee from this region being very pure and sweet, with an alluring layered balance in both acidity and mouthfeel.

Through cupping comparisons by FrontStreet Coffee, it was found that coffee from the Tarrazu region exhibits very good cleanliness, bright acidity, with citrus and berry notes. Representative coffee beans include "FrontStreet Coffee Daily Beans 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 region is less pronounced compared to the Tarrazu region, and the mouthfeel is more balanced, with a lingering finish of nuts and caramel. Coffee from the Central Valley region, however, has a very pure and sweet flavor profile, with an alluring layered balance in both acidity and mouthfeel.

Costa Rican Coffee Bean Varieties

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

Caturra is a mutation of Bourbon, discovered in Brazil in 1937. It has better productivity and disease resistance than Bourbon, and the plant is shorter, making harvesting easier. It has strong adaptability, does not require shade trees, and is suitable for planting from low altitudes of 700 meters to high altitudes of 1700 meters. Its altitude adaptability is very strong, 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 wind and rain. Because the plant is smaller, it can be planted at twice the density during cultivation, and the plant is short, making it relatively easy to treat 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 altitudes has a very alluring flavor.

Bourbon coffee was first planted in Réunion, which was also called Bourbon Island before 1789. In 1860, Bourbon was introduced to Brazilian farms and quickly spread northward to other areas of South America and Central America. Bourbon grown at high altitudes usually has better aroma, with brighter acidity, and even a flavor reminiscent of red wine.

Villa Sarchi is a Bourbon mutation. This green-tipped dwarf natural mutant of Bourbon was discovered in Costa Rica in 1950, followed by pedigree selection (selecting individual plants through successive generations), but 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 highly complex coffee, suitable for medium-dark roasting. The dry fragrance after grinding carries perfume-like nectar and cherry notes, mixed with sweet spices like cinnamon.

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

Costa Rican Coffee Bean Grading

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

How to Brew Costa Rican Coffee for the Best Taste?

In terms of brewing parameters, Front Street selected 15g of coffee grounds, chose a finer grind size, with a passing rate of approximately 78-80% using the Chinese No. 20 standard sieve. The coffee-to-water ratio used is 1:15.

Through several brewing comparisons, using a water temperature of 90-91°C better brings out the aroma and sweetness of this coffee. A V60 dripper is used, aiming to enrich the layering of this coffee~

The brewing method is as follows: For the first stage, pour 30 grams of water for blooming, with a blooming time of 30 seconds. For 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 up to 225 grams. Wait for all the coffee to drip through 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.