Costa Rica Coffee Guide: Regions, Flavors and Farm Tours

Costa Rica coffee is all arabica, mostly grown at high altitude on volcanic soil, and known for a clean cup with bright acidity and a medium body. The country has eight recognized growing regions, with Tarrazú the best known, and much of the coffee is washed or honey processed by small farms and micro mills. As a visitor, the best ways to try it are a farm tour during the harvest, roughly November to March, a specialty café that names the region and farm, and a cup brewed through a traditional chorreador.

This guide is for travelers and coffee drinkers who want to understand what they’re tasting and buy good beans to bring home. It covers the regions, processing, a short history, where to try it and what to look for on the bag.

Costa Rica coffee	At a glance
Species	Arabica; labels often say “100% arábica”
Regions	Eight, including Tarrazú, West Valley, Central Valley and Tres Ríos
Typical cup	Clean, bright acidity, medium body
Processing	Mostly washed and honey; some natural
Harvest	Roughly November to March, varying by region and altitude
Production	About 1.3 million 60-kg bags in 2024/25
Biggest buyer	The United States, about 38% of exports (2023/24)

The basics

What Makes Costa Rica Coffee Different

• Altitude. Most coffee grows in the highlands, and higher, cooler farms ripen cherries slowly for more complex flavor. Beans graded SHB (Strictly Hard Bean) come from above about 1,350 meters (4,400 feet).
• Volcanic soil and rain. The Central Valley and the slopes around Poás, Barva, Irazú and Turrialba volcanoes have fertile soil and distinct wet and dry seasons.
• Arabica varieties. Caturra and Catuaí are the most common, along with Villa Sarchí, which was found in Costa Rica, and higher-priced varieties such as Gesha on some specialty farms.
• Small producers and micro mills. Many farmers now process their own coffee at small mills, called micro mills, instead of selling cherries to large mills. That lets them sell traceable single-farm lots.

The industry is shrinking, though. Costa Rica had fewer than 26,000 registered growers in 2023/24, down 46% from a decade earlier, and the 2025/26 crop is forecast at about 1.17 million bags.

Regions

Costa Rica Coffee Regions and Flavors

The Costa Rican Coffee Institute (ICAFE) recognizes eight regions, and bags often name them. Flavor notes vary by farm, variety and roast, so treat these as starting points.

Region	Where	Often described as
Tarrazú	Los Santos area, south of San José	Chocolate, orange, vanilla, dried fruit
West Valley	Naranjo, Palmares, Grecia and nearby towns	Orange, peach, honey, vanilla
Central Valley	Around San José, Heredia and Alajuela	Balanced, chocolate and fruit, honey aroma
Tres Ríos	East of San José, near Irazú Volcano	Delicate acidity
Orosi	Orosi Valley, near Cartago	Smooth and balanced
Turrialba	Around Turrialba Volcano	Mild acidity, light body
Brunca	Southern zone	Citrus, mild to sweet
Guanacaste	Northwestern mountains	Smooth body, light acidity

Tarrazú is the most famous name, and West Valley farms have done especially well in Cup of Excellence competitions. If you’re new to Costa Rica coffee, start with a Tarrazú and a West Valley bag side by side.

Processing

Washed, Honey and Natural: How Processing Changes the Taste

After picking, the fruit has to come off the seed, and how that happens shapes the flavor.

• Washed: the fruit is removed before drying. This gives the clean, bright cup Costa Rica is best known for.
• Honey: some of the sticky fruit layer, or mucilage, stays on the bean while it dries. Yellow, red and black honey leave progressively more, which usually means a sweeter, rounder cup.
• Natural: the whole cherry dries in the sun before milling, which gives fruit-forward, sometimes wine-like flavors.

Honey-processed coffees are a good choice if you want something that tastes distinctly Costa Rican and a little different from the coffee you drink at home.

History

A Short History of Coffee in Costa Rica

Coffee farming began in the Meseta Central around 1779, and the young government encouraged it by offering land to people who would grow it. Costa Rica first exported coffee in 1832, shipping it to Chile, where it was re-bagged and sent on to England. In 1843, a Guernsey sea captain, William Le Lacheur, began shipping it directly to the United Kingdom, which remained the main buyer until the 1940s.

Coffee earned the name grano de oro (golden bean) and paid for much of the young country. Coffee revenue helped fund the railroad to the Atlantic coast, finished in 1890, and coffee growers backed the National Theatre in San José. In 2020, coffee was declared a national symbol.

Visiting

Where to Try Costa Rica Coffee as a Visitor

• Farm tours near San José: Café Britt in Heredia (about 90 minutes) and Doka Estate near Alajuela (about an hour) are the easiest to reach, with tours from roughly $28 to $31 for adults. Go between about November and March to see the harvest. See our guide to touring a coffee plantation.
• Tarrazú cooperatives: for a more working-farm visit, head to the Los Santos area, where cooperatives such as Coopedota offer tours.
• Specialty cafés: San José, Heredia and the main tourist towns have cafés that list the farm and region and brew by hand. Use our Costa Rica cafe finder.
• Markets and sodas: coffee stalls at San José’s Central Market grind to order, and small sodas often serve café chorreado.

Order like a local with our tips on Costa Rica coffee culture mistakes.

Buying

How to Buy Good Costa Rica Coffee

• Buy whole beans and check the roast date (fecha de tueste).
• Look for a named region or farm, the process (washed, honey or natural) and “100% arábica” on the label.
• Buy from roasters, farms, markets or supermarkets rather than the airport, where prices are higher and roast dates are rare.
• Packing for a US-bound flight? Ground coffee of 12 ounces (350 ml) or more in carry-on bags may need extra screening, so pack it in checked luggage or buy whole beans.

For more gift ideas, see our Costa Rica souvenirs guide.

Brewing

Brewing Costa Rica Coffee at Home

The traditional way is the chorreador, a wooden stand that holds a cloth filter over a cup. Use a medium-fine grind and about 15 grams of coffee per 250 ml of water just off the boil, and pour slowly. A pour-over brewer works the same way and shows off washed Tarrazú and Tres Ríos coffees well. See our chorreador guide and our guide to enjoying Costa Rica coffee.

FAQ

Costa Rica Coffee: FAQ