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Introduction to the main Coffee varieties grown in Central America and Costa Rica

Published: 2026-01-16 Author:

Last Updated: 2026/01/16, Costa Rica, located in Central America, is the 14th largest coffee producer in the world. Although it has a small land area, it has vast forests and fertile volcanic soil, making it a very suitable place for coffee cultivation. Coffee was grown in Costa Rica as early as the early 19th century. And the government strongly supports coffee.

Costa Rica, located in Central America, is the 14th largest coffee producer in the world. Although it has a small land area, it has vast forests and fertile volcanic soil, making it a very suitable place for coffee cultivation.

Coffee was grown in Costa Rica as early as the early 19th century. And the government is so supportive of coffee cultivation that the Coffee Defense Agency (Institute for the Defence of Coffee) was established in 1933 to protect small coffee farmers from exploitation, which later became the Costa Rican Coffee Institute (ICAFE) in 1948 and is still in operation today.

In some impressions, the coffee varieties grown in American coffee producing areas are mainly Kaddura, Kaduai and bourbon. However, this year, coffee research centers in many producing countries have sprung up, and more and more high-quality varieties have emerged through the hybridization of some varieties. At present, there are many other high-quality varieties such as Kaddura and Bourbon in Costa Rica.

There is also the name La Luisa or Villalobos Bourbon in the Villa Sarchi industry. It was first discovered in the city of Sarchi in Costa Rica in the 1950s. It is a natural variety of bourbon, with genetic mutations that cause plants to become smaller. This variety is well adapted to the highest altitude and strong wind, but is susceptible to leaf rust and coffee berry disease. It is mainly grown in Costa Rica and was introduced to Honduras by IHCAFE in 1974, but not widely cultivated in other regions.

VeneciaVenecia Vanessa was found in the Kaddura natural mutant in the San Carlos San Carlos region of Costa Rica's central valley. It is a new breed of Kaddura coffee released by the Costa Rican Coffee Research Center (ICAFE). Like Kaddura, Venecia coffee has the advantages of high yield, strong rain resistance and disease resistance. It takes three years for Venecia coffee trees to begin to bear fruit, with large beans and hard kernels. In 1991, ICAFE began to study and screen this variety of coffee beans in Turrialba, Coto Brus and Perez Zeledon regions of Costa Rica. After years of research, Venicia varieties in Perez Zeledon region not only have richer flavor, but also have better yield and resistance to diseases and insect pests.

H1 this variety is a hybrid of T5296 of F1 first generation hybrid series and Ethiopian local variety Rume Sudan, also known as Centroamericano. It is a variety that is more resistant to leaf rust and has high yield. When planted at high altitude and carefully managed, it will have very good quality. The variety was discovered by farmers in Central America in 2010, but it is commercially available only to a small number of farmers and specific countries. At present, the Costa Rican Mozart from Qianjie is the H1 variety, which is treated with grape dried honey. The palate has complex floral aromas and fermented sauce, with sour notes of carambola and berries, sweet and sweet like raisins and dried fruits.