Costa Rican Coffee

We are very fond of coffees from Costa Rica because of their cleanliness—being relatively free from defects—and their complex yet balanced flavour profile. Typical flavour profiles include bright citrus and berry acidity, often balanced by round chocolate and roasted nut body. 

Costa Rican Coffee History

Costa Rica has been producing and exporting coffee for over 200 years and it has remained an important part of the economy. Currently, the export of coffee beans from Costa Rica is the country’s third cash crop, behind bananas and pineapples. 

Until recently, most Costa Rican coffee came from large mills that would blend coffees from several farms and create brands. This leads to bland, uninteresting coffee of questionable quality and very little traceability. Exactly the kind of coffee we stay far away from. Thankfully, things have started to change recently.

The Micro Mill Revolution

In the past 10 years, small, passionate Costa Rican coffee bean farmers have begun to take more care in how they grow and harvest their coffees and take more control of their product by processing their own cherries, carefully sun drying and preparing one day’s harvest at a time. This allows for the careful separation and traceability of micro lots and can lead to discovering coffees with wonderfully distinct terroir—flavours that reflect the unique characteristics of where the coffee was grown. There are an estimated 150 micro mills in operation in as many microclimates in Costa Rica.  

Costa Rican Coffee Bean Regions and Conditions 

Along with the micro mills and varied climates, other factors like democracy, social and labour laws, and access to medicine contribute to making Costa Rica a favourable place to grow ad produce coffee. 

There are eight main coffee producing regions in Costa Rica: West Valley, Tres Rios, Orosi, Turrialba, Tarrazu, Brunca and Guancaste, each one with unique environmental characteristics that create specific cup profiles.

Our current offering of Costa Rican coffee beans: