Costa Rica's Dream Coffee

If it's been a while since you tried Costa Rica coffee, you may want to try it again.  Changes in coffee production and an attempt to keep up with the growing market for coffee and gourmet coffee has caused some changes in the coffee coming out of this region.Because of the growning trend of small coffee mills, the variety of flavors coming from this region is even larger.

If you are one of the people who prefer Costa Rica coffee that's probably because it is mild and has perfect coffee flavor.Well balanced flavor that is very mild with no bitterness has been a steady trait for this coffee.Critics have determined that coffee from this region is failrly bland.And some of the huge coffee-producing farms and mills did make an effort to produce a coffee that would please almost every coffee drinker.

These coffees were typically made from your average Arabica beans and produced on a mass scale.Today, smaller mills are gaining in popularity.  The Costa Rica coffee produced on these smaller farms are carefully controlled by the mill owner and blended to produce a distinct flavor to set it apart from the other coffee in the area. Even on a small farm, different lots of coffee depending on soil drainage, elevation and other factors are found to have subtle taste differences.  Combine that with different roasting temperatures and times, and the range of flavors can be huge. 

The quality and flavor of a coffee is strongly related to the process it goes through. Signature processes or blending created different micro-brans of Costa Rican coffee.  The region has been producing coffee since the late 18th century, with the first type of coffee grown there having come from Saudi Arabia—Arabica coffee.  It wasn't long before coffee became Costa Rica's largest exported crop, outselling even tobacco, sugar and cacao.

Costa Rica tints coffee that will remain in the country to keep the price down from the beans shipped overseas.  Workers are typically immigrants from nearby countries like Nicaragua, and the best workers still only make between $12 and $18 per day, depending on how many baskets they pick.  Given the other wages in the area and that the wages are governmentally set, in Costa Rica, a seasonal worker actually makes a decent living, comparable to other agricultural workers in the area.

The resurgance of Costa Rica coffee has grown world-side. Many Arabica blend fans are now fans of the mild and well balanced blends of Costa Rica coffee.