Costa Rican Coffee introduction

Costa Rica, with its fertile volcanic soil and good drainage, is the first country in Central America to grow coffee and bananas for commercial value. Coffee and bananas are the country's main exports. Coffee was introduced into Costa Rica from Cuba in 1729 and today its coffee industry is one of the most well-organized industries in the world with a yield of 1700 kg per hectare. Costa Rica, with a population of only 3.5 million, has 400 million coffee trees, and coffee exports account for 25 per cent of the country's total exports.

High-quality Costa Rican coffee is called "extra hard beans". This kind of coffee can grow above 1500 meters above sea level. Altitude has always been a problem for coffee growers. The higher the altitude, the better the coffee beans, not only because the higher altitude can increase the acidity of the coffee beans and thus increase the flavor, but also because the night temperature at the higher altitude is lower, which can make the trees grow slowly, thus making the coffee beans have a stronger flavor. In addition, due to the high altitude drop caused by sufficient rainfall, is also very beneficial to the growth of coffee trees. However, while there are many advantages to growing coffee at higher elevations, the resulting additional transport costs must be taken into account, which is likely to make coffee production unprofitable. The coffee industry in Costa Rica has adopted new technologies to increase efficiency, including the use of "electric eyes" to select beans and identify coffee beans of irregular size.

Tarasu, located south of the country's capital, San Jose, is one of the most valued coffee growers in the country. "Tarasu Latin America" coffee is a famous local product, but the production is limited, about 72600 kilograms a year. It is grown on a piece of land called "Latin America", which is owned by the last three generations of the McCarpin family in Britain. In fact, this land can produce more than 450 tons of coffee a year. But Tarasu Latin America coffee is grown without artificial fertilizers or insecticides, and its harvesting and selection are done by hand, in order to avoid some damage to coffee beans caused by air spray selection.

Other coffees worth mentioning are Juan Venus, Tulnon, Vidmir, Mondibelo and Santa Rosa. Fine coffee usually grows in Eredia and the central canyon. Another striking type of coffee is Saatchi (Saatchi is one of the five towns representing Costa Rica's Coffee Road), which grows on the slopes of Mount Boaz, 53 kilometers from San Jose. Saatchi, founded in 1949, has a land area of 30770 hectares and grows sugar cane and coffee. The area is also famous for its handicrafts, attracting tourists from all over the world.