Description of Coffee Flavor in Chateau Saint-Roman, Costa Rica; introduction to fine coffee in producing areas

Tarrazu, Costa Rica, is one of the world's leading coffee producers, producing coffee with a light, pure flavor and pleasant aroma. Costa Rica's volcanic soils are fertile and well drained, making it 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 to Costa Rica from Cuba in 1729, and today its coffee industry is one of the most well-organized in the world, producing up to 1700 kilograms per hectare. Costa Rica has a population of 3.5 million, but coffee trees number 400 million, and coffee exports account for 25% of the country's total exports. Costa Rica also benefits from the Turrialba of the Central American Agricultural Research Institute (IAAC) in Tarazu, an important international research centre.

High-quality Costa Rican coffee is known as "extra-hard" and can be grown at altitudes above 1500 meters. Altitude has always been a problem for coffee growers. Coffee beans are better at higher altitudes, not only because higher altitudes increase the acidity of coffee beans and thus enhance flavor, but also because lower night temperatures at higher altitudes cause trees to grow slowly, thus making coffee beans more flavorful. In addition, due to the high altitude drop caused by sufficient rainfall, coffee tree growth is also very favorable. However, while there are many advantages to growing coffee at higher altitudes, the additional transportation costs associated with it must be taken into account, which may well make coffee production unprofitable. Costa Rican coffee has adopted new techniques to increase efficiency, including the use of "electric eyes" to select beans and identify beans of irregular size

Although Costa Rica has obtained the recognition of coffee gluttons through honey treatment of coffee beans, it is also inseparable from Costa Rica's superior geographical and climatic conditions and the choice of Arabica coffee varieties. Costa Rica's premium coffee beans are called "very hard beans"(SHB), and there are hard beans (HB) and slightly hard beans (SH) in descending order of quality, which is also how it is graded. Hard beans grow at altitudes above 1500 meters, and altitude always represents the quality of coffee, and high altitude means better quality. In addition, due to the high altitude drop caused by sufficient rainfall, the growth of coffee trees is very beneficial; and the high altitude night temperature is low, resulting in slow growth of trees, so that coffee fruit better absorb more nutrients, coffee flavor is also richer.

Its three most famous producing areas are Tarasu, located south of San Jose, Costa Rica, and the Central Valley and Western Valley. Among them, there are many excellent independent estates, all of which are carefully cultivating more finely washed and honey-treated coffee beans. Let us look forward to Costa Rica bringing us more honey-treated coffee surprises.