Som’s Café Costa Rica Café Vida Tarrazu coffee is one of our flag ship single origin coffees with notes of roasted almonds, cashews, and citrus. This coffee has quickly become a customer favorite because of its bold and bright flavor profile. As I was learning more about the history and origin of this coffee I found out more about why this is not only a customer favorite, but a world-wide favorite coffee.
Ideal Growing Region for Coffee
Costa Rica is famous for it’s diverse ecosystems and as a result there are 8 different coffee growing regions that each have distinct characteristics. The Tarrazu region is one of the premier regions for coffee production “for consistently producing the best coffee” (Sara Mayo, costricaexperts.com) and is responsible for approximately 35% of the country’s coffee production. Tarrazu is known for it’s distinct bright acidic coffee flavor which comes from the mountainous terrain and rich volcanic soil. It has an ideal climate with a rainy season from May-November and dry season from December-April giving plenty of rainfall for growing robust coffee cherries in the rainy season and ideal drying season for processing the beans.
Costa Rican Coffee as an Art
Costa Rican coffee is less about mass production and more about the art of coffee. Unlike other growing regions where coffee was initially grown on mass plantations where the owners were not involved in the farming labor, the Costa Rican coffee industry grew more as individual coffee plantations where the owner was doing the growing and picking themselves and much more involved in the multifaceted process of coffee cultivation. There are many factors that impact the coffee growth process that the growers can maneuver to create their own distinct brand. Costa Rica is also the only country where it is illegal to grow anything but arabica beans, the highest quality coffee beans.
“The primary types of beans grown in the region are Caturra and Catuai. Caturra is a mutation of the Bourbon variety of arabica coffee. It matures more quickly than most coffee plants and is disease resistant. Catuai is a highly productive breed of Caturra and Mundo Nova. It is a robust plant that can withstand heavy wind and rains. Both varieties are rich in flavor and produce some of the highest-quality coffee beans.” (Quoted from Cafe Britt).
https://www.cafebritt.com/experience-britt/journey-to-origin/a-look-into-tarrazu)
