Costa Rican coffee culture

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.

Located in the south of the country's capital, San Jos é, Tarasu is one of the most valued coffee growers in the country. La Minita Tarrazu coffee is a famous local product, but its production is limited, about 72600 kilograms a year. It is grown on a piece of land called La Minita, which is owned by the last three generations of the McAlpine family in the UK. In fact, this land can produce more than 450 tons of coffee a year. But Tarasurameta coffee is grown without artificial fertilizers or insecticides, and its harvest and selection are done by hand, in order to avoid the damage to coffee beans caused by air spray selection to some extent.