The Secrets of Costa Rican Tarrazu Coffee

Some of the best premium coffee in the world comes from the Tarrazu District in Costa Rica. This premium coffee is grown in the unspoiled, pollution-free atmosphere on the slopes of the Talamanca Mountains, which rises high above the verdant Tarrazu valley. The coffee trees flourish at a height of 5,000 feet.

Ancient And Ultra Modern Processing

This coffee is also handled in a special way: using a meld of an age-old process that dates back centuries with the very latest in technology. Before machines grind the coffee, the cherries are hand picked when ripe, sun dried, and then graded by hand.

Ideal Conditions To Cultivate Gourmet Coffee

The Arabica coffee trees grow on volcanic soil, which is rich in nutrients. This coffee is healthy because it is grown in mineral-rich soil. Moreover, the soil is not taken for granted but regularly tested to ensure that it retains its optimum nutritional profile.

Other factors that contribute to the taste of this Central American coffee are the seasons, both wet and dry, the geographical location, the high altitude and the temperature. In addition, the coffee beans are also protected from too much sunlight by the low clouds that frequent this region.

The Region Is Highly Eco-Conscious

The organic farms are connected by gravel roads to the towns of San Marcos, San Pablo, and Santa María. These are the town that first exported this unique Central American coffee to the cities of Europe.

The coffee farmers, aware of the special geographical and climate-related factors that make their gourmet coffee one of the best in the world, reinvest in maintaining the quality of their farms.

4 Years From Seed To Cup

Since it takes 4 years to cultivate coffee--the time from planting to harvesting--much time and money is spent in choosing trees that can remain free of pestilence. The Arabica trees grown here are the traditional Typica and the contemporary Caturra.

Everything is done by hand. The trees flower in the month of April following the first rains and they are harvested from October to the middle of March.

Because the fresh-roasted flavor of Tarrazú coffee makes it one of the most cherished gourmet coffees the world over, many meticulous preparations are followed to ensure quality. For example, the pickers are trained only to select the ripest cherries at the right time of the year. Consequently, each coffee tree is approached four times to make sure the best cherries are found. After harvesting, the coffee is expertly packaged and shipped to the many parts of the world where it is eagerly awaited. It is usually packed and sealed into one-way bags to ensure freshness then sent either directly to the homes of coffee drinkers who have special ordered it or to the doorsteps of some of the best coffee shops in the world