Costa Rica Coffee Beans

About Costa Rica Coffee Beans

With near perfect coffee growing conditions all year round, and passionate farmers and government organisations leading the way in innovative cultivation techniques; it is no wonder Costa Rica coffee has a reputation for being some of the best in the world. The Costa Rican people truly take the production of coffee seriously! Their coffee beans can be characterised as balanced, full-bodied, clean and highly aromatic.

Benefits Of Drinking Costa Rica Coffee Beans

• Cafe Quality Coffee – our coffee beans are roasted to order within 24h to keep coffee fresh without losing any of its beautiful characteristics.
• Best for espresso, latte and cappuccino
• Made by passionate coffee roasters dedicated to provide the best coffee beans in Australia!

Growing Costa Rica Coffee Beans

Costa Rica takes its coffee-growing very seriously. There are even laws that regulate the type of coffee that can be grown and the farming methods used. The history of coffee production in Costa Rica is extensive and an integral part of their economy and culture. Records show that coffee was brought to Costa Rica by the Cubans in the late 18th century. Still, it wasn’t until the 1800’s that the government started to commercialise its cultivation and by 1830 coffee was the countries number one export.

The Costa Rican mountain regions’ tropical climate and high altitudes are ideal for growing high-quality Arabica coffee plants. In fact, Arabica beans are the only kind that can be legally cultivated in the country. The law prohibiting the farming of low-quality beans is designed to ensure farmers are producing only the highest quality Costa Rica coffee beans.

The best coffee plantations in Costa Rica are spread out over eight separate regions that specialise in coffee farming, each producing coffee beans with distinct characteristics. The Central Valley is considered the heart of the Costa Rican coffee industry and produces a balanced, full-bodied bean with fruit and chocolate notes with a subtle aroma of honey. However, the Tarrazú region is the most famous and largest coffee region in Costa Rica. The Tarrazú region is revolutionising coffee cultivation techniques and produces highly acidic beans with refined and complex flavours.

Each Costa Rica coffee region produces beans with different undertones and acidic levels, but all Costa Rica coffee beans have a balanced, full-bodied flavour thanks to the volcanic ash that enriches the soil. Costa Rican soil is full of minerals and extremely fertile, the past volcanic activity ensures the soil is highly oxygenated and able to retain humidity which aids in producing high-quality coffee beans.

With a population of just over 5-million and a landmass of only 51,100 km2, Costa Rica may be a small nation, but they produce some of the cleanest, well-rounded coffee beans in the world.

Coffee Beans Shop Australia Sources the Best Coffee Beans from Costa Rica

Coffee Beans Shop Australia sources the best beans where possible, ensuring we maintain a personal connection with our trusted suppliers and distributors. We too have a deep and compassionate care for those who produce our coffee beans and the farms or plantations that our Costa Rica coffee beans come from.

Costa Rican Coffee Bean Production and Harvesting

Did you know: Costa Rica coffee beans are handpicked!

As mentioned, Costa Rica takes its coffee production very seriously, which is why handpicking is the only method of harvesting practised across all eight of the coffee regions. This method showcases the passion and dedication the country has to the art of quality coffee cultivation. Handpicking the coffee berries ensures only the perfectly ripe is selected. It also reduces the amount of fruit wasted due to being picked too early or too late. The farmers are quite literally touching every plant.

Once picked, the berries are generally taken to a co-op mill for processing that same day to begin the wet mill process. Wet milling is when water and friction are used to clean the berries and strip the pulp off them. The berries are then dried; natural sunlight is the preferred method for dry milling; however, Costa Rica has a considerable wet season, so hot air pumps are also used in the drying process.

Since the mid-2000s, there has been a rise in a new variation of wet milling calling “honeying” which is particularly popular to Costa Rica. Instead of using traditional washing methods, the honeying process involves using a specialised machine that removes the skin and pulp but retains some of the bean’s mucilage (a thick, gooey secretion produced when the skin is stripped off the berry). There are five variations of honeyed coffee, and they are each determined but the amount of mucilage removed from the berries during this process.

• Black – 0% removed
• Red – 25% removed
• Yellow – 50% removed
• Golden – 75% removed
• White – 100% removed

Each of these variants produce different characteristics and flavour tones to the final brew.

It is hard to pinpoint the best coffee plantation in Costa Rica as each one produces such diverse flavours. One thing is for sure, Costa Rica coffee beans are some of the best.

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