Like other countries Costa Rica’s pride in the coffee production is no exception. The coffee from Costa Rica Is known to be very rich, completed by a whole spectrum of flavors and capturing acidity. An exquisite experience like no other.
Coffee is a significant part of Costa Rica’s history, and the country is renowned for growing some of the highest quality Arabica beans on the planet.
In this article, we’re diving into Costa Rica’s coffee culture, and we’re detailing the best Costa Rican coffee beans you can find!
The Costa Rica Peaberry Coffee is from the Aquiares Estate located in the Tres Rios region near the pacific coast. This world prized, single estate peaberry coffee is shade-grown and rain forest certified at an altitude of about 5,200 feet. Highly prized by connoisseurs for its balance and intensity of flavors such as honey, lemon, and almond, this coffee is a great example of a typical coffee from the region as they tend to be mildly sweet and bright. Highly prized for their unique flavor, these beans are considered one of the rarest in the crop.
Certifications:
- Kosher Certified
- Rainforest Alliance Certified
Flavor Notes: Honey, Lemon, and Almond
Processing: Washed Process
Roast: Medium Roast
Additional Information:
- Farm: The Aquiares Estate
- pH: 5.2
- Single Origin Coffee: Grown at an altitude of about 5,200 feet
- Shade Grown
- Peaberry Coffee- What is a Peaberry Coffee? Peaberry coffee beans are unique and have a much richer flavor. They are only found in 5% of the crop and are removed manually. The flavor of the peaberry is of a finer quality than the rest of the crop and is desired by coffee connoisseurs.
Best Premium Coffee
The Costa Rica Geisha Coffee is a scarce and ancient coffee of wild Ethiopian origin. This coffee is unique in that it contains 30% less caffeine than most other coffees, while continuing to retain the sweet, citric, apple, and floral flavors that make it so wonderfully popular.
Certifications: Kosher Certified
Flavor Notes: Sweet, Citric, Apple, and Floral Flavors
Processing: Natural Process
Roast: Medium Roast
Additional Information:
- Farm: Finca La Candeilla
- Microlot
- Natural Process: What is the natural process? Ripe cherries are sun-dried on raised beds for 8-12 days, depending on climatic conditions. During this time, they are handpicked, sorted, and raked to ensure a consistent drying process. This process results in a sweeter more floral flavor. After drying, the coffee is milled.
- Single Origin Coffee
- Costa Rica Geisha Coffee History and Processing: Costa Rica Geisha is a very unique type of coffee with several distinguishing properties that make it special. The term Geisha comes from the Ethiopian town of Gesha, where the coffee plant originated. Geisha Coffee is different in appearance, is naturally resistant to some diseases and the beans are long and slender. The crop yield of this type of Coffee plant is meager, which is why it is so difficult to find commercial plantations and production of this coffee. There are different varieties of Geisha Coffee since they are the plant seedlings from the original plant in Ethiopia that have been exported. Geisha Coffee varieties can be found in Ethiopia, Tanzania, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, and Peru. While there are many factors that influence how plants grow and how the fruit that they bear may develop, the local coffee plantations give each crop a unique characteristic and flavor. The taste of Geisha Coffee from Costa Rica can be described as having a soft and delicate profile with quietly complex aromatics that consist of flowering grass, lavender, a crisp rather vegetal cocoa, hints of molasses, and pipe tobacco.
Super Sweet
Fresh Roated Coffee LLC. Roasted Coffee Costa Rican Tarrazu: Notes of honey and chocolate. Perfect if you’ve got a sweet tooth!
Costa Rican Tarrazu coffee possesses an inherently intense flavor with peaks of bright acidity and depths of sweet honey and chocolate. The body of Costa Rican Tarrazu is considered medium, but this famous coffee region does not lack for flavor and in all produces an incredibly satisfying cup.
In a spectacular region of Costa Rica known as the “Land of the Saints”, farmers work tirelessly to care for this beautiful Costa Rican Tarrazu coffee. The main suppliers of this Costa Rican coffee represent small micro mills and traditional coops, ensuring only the highest quality cherries are obtained for production of this authentic Tarrazu coffee.
During the growth, harvest and processing of these coffee beans, all coffee pickers and producers are supplied with insurance, medical services, housing and transportation to the farming facilities.
4 Interesting Costa Rica Coffee Facts
A Central American First
Today, Central America is one of the world’s top coffee-growing regions, and it’s come a long way since coffee was first embraced in Costa Rica.
The Arabica varietal was first introduced in the late 1700s with the coffee beans originating in Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee. Costa Rica has the perfect conditions to grow this variety, especially along its central valley.
Coffee became the country’s only export from 1846 to 1890. The Costa Rican government even offered land titles for farmers who cultivated coffee. Costa Rican coffee was imported all over the world, but with the UK being its primary customer. It is prized for its excellent quality and complex taste, which we explain below.
Known For High-Quality Brews
8 regions in Costa Rica cultivate coffee beans, and they are all situated in the country’s Central Valley. Each zone can yield a difference in flavor, but a factor consistent in all of them is that they have the optimal growing conditions for Arabica.
Fertile soil, high altitude, adequate rainfall, and cooler temperatures are a must-have for Arabica coffee, and this is found all across Costa Rica. This leads to a slower maturity rate for the coffee’s cherries, which increases the sugar in each bean.
It’s common to see Costa Rican coffees on the higher end of the quality spectrum, and it’s because of the country’s strict regulations and the great care taken for growing coffee.
8 regions in Costa Rica cultivate coffee beans, and they are all situated in the country’s Central Valley
Each zone can yield a difference in flavor, but a factor consistent in all of them is that they have the optimal growing conditions for Arabica.
Fertile soil, high altitude, adequate rainfall, and cooler temperatures are a must-have for Arabica coffee, and this is found all across Costa Rica. This leads to a slower maturity rate for the coffee’s cherries, which increases the sugar in each bean.
It’s common to see Costa Rican coffees on the higher end of the quality spectrum, and it’s because of the country’s strict regulations and the great care taken for growing coffee.
If you’re looking to brew a high-quality coffee bean, make sure that it’s Arabica.
Robusta Is Literally Illegal
Robusta is another coffee varietal that can thrive easily compared to Arabica coffee beans. It is also known for its caffeine content and usage in blends. Most coffee growing regions cultivate Robusta beans in some form, but it’s a different story in Costa Rica.
Since 1988, Costa Rican coffee farmers can only grow Arabica beans as mandated by the government. This is the only country where a decree prohibits Robusta bean production, and it has helped Costa Rica become the 13th largest coffee bean producer in the world.
With the country’s long history and perfect growing conditions, Costa Rica’s exclusivity for the sweeter and flavorful variety has established its reputation for coffee beans in the highest quality.