Beginning in the nineteenth century the newly formed Costan Rican government encouraged coffee production. “The Costa Rican government…in order to get coffee going in Costa Rica was to give any person that wanted up to 25 coffee plants to harvest, and from there a plot of land on which to harvest it.” A coffee plantation system developed as a result of the government’s policy. Coffee is indeed inextricably intertwined into Costa Rican culture. It is a way of life down here. So is Costa Rican coffee really that good? Well ticos have a saying that represents their thoughts on the matter. That is, that “Juan Valdez (the mascot of Colombian coffee) drinks Costa Rican coffee.” Since Colombia is over ten times the size of Costa Rica and one of the top ten coffee exporters in the world, that is a bold statement. When I first came to Costa Rica I was not a heavy coffee drinker. Now I am an addict, just like the rest of the ticos. A day just isn’t the same unless started with a cup of Costa Rican joe and a plate of gallo pinto. Costa Rica this week celebrates 200 years of coffee cultivation in the country with festivities in the capital, San Jose. I am sure that coffee will remain an integral part of the tico culture for centuries to come.
Here is an excerpt from CoffeeResearch.org……..Costa Rican coffee has set the standards for fine wet-processed coffee for the rest of Central and South America. The most famous coffees by region are Tarrazu, Tres Rios, Herediá, and Alajuela. Most coffee in Costa Rica comes from the caturra coffee varietal and is characterized as a bright and full bodied coffee. Other popular Costa Rica coffee varieties are Mondo Novo and Catuai. The best Costa Rican coffee beans, which are grown above 3,900 feet, are designated as “strictly hard bean”. The “good hard bean” classification is given to coffees grown from 3,300 to 3,900 feet.
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