An introduction to the Tarasu region of Costa Rica, one of the major coffee producing countries in the world

Tarrazu in Costa Rica is one of the major coffee producing areas in the world. The coffee produced is light and pure in flavor and pleasant in aroma. 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. Today, its coffee industry is one of the 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. Costa Rica has also benefited from the establishment of the Central American Institute for Agricultural Research (TurrialbaoftheCentralAmericanAgriculturalResearchInstitute, referred to as IAAC) in Tarasu, which is an important international research centre.

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 Costa Rican coffee industry has adopted new technologies to increase efficiency, including the use of "electric eyes" to select beans and identify irregular coffee beans. Costa Rican coffee is called "hard beans". This kind of coffee can grow at an altitude of more than 1500 meters. 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 the flavor of the coffee beans is stronger. In addition, due to the high altitude drop caused by sufficient rainfall, it is very beneficial to the growth of coffee trees. However, its negative effect is to increase additional transportation costs, which is likely to make coffee production unprofitable. The coffee industry in Costa Rica has adopted new technologies to increase efficiency, including using "electric eyes" to select beans and identify coffee beans of irregular size.