Coffee Cultures Around the World: Costa Rica

Welcome to the land of pura vida

To Costa Ricans, pura vida means “pure life”. It is a common saying, evoking a way of being. A philosophy of tranquillity, gratitude, community, and harmonious relationship with nature. It is reflected everywhere in the country, and you can experience it in its exquisite coffees, featured in Costa Rica: Pura Vida, Pura Tierra, the latest film in our Journeys to the Source series.

A coffee that rewards slowing down

Costa Rica is one of the world's most respected coffee-producing countries, crafting coffees known for their clarity, balance, and bright acidity, and prized for their clean, vibrant cup profiles. One of the most striking things about Costa Rica coffee is that it often reveals itself gradually—a bright citrus note, a touch of honey or caramel, perhaps hints of stone fruit or chocolate. It is a coffee that inspires slowing down and paying attention to its exquisite characteristics.

Although each coffee is unique, Costa Rica coffee is known for an exquisite flavour profile: 

• Bright, lively acidity: Often described as crisp, with citrus or apple-like brightness.
• Sweetness: You may notice notes of caramel, brown sugar, honey, or panela.
• Fruit flavours: Depending on the region and processing method, you might find orange, red berries, peach, tropical fruit, or stone fruit.
• Medium body: Featuring a silky or tea-like body, each cup is a pleasure to drink.
• Clean finish: Its excellent clarity makes individual flavour notes easy to distinguish.

The terroir

Costa Rica's terroir features an exceptional combination of high elevations reaching 1,000 – 2,000 meters (3,300–6,600 ft) above sea level, mineral-rich volcanic soils, consistent tropical climate, and distinct wet and dry seasons. Together, these conditions allow coffee cherries to develop slowly and evenly, producing complex flavours with bright acidity and sweetness. The beans become denser, allowing them to roast more evenly.

Costa Rica is bordered by both the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, enjoying moist air from both coasts with frequent cloud cover, morning mists, regular rainfall, and moderate humidity. The country's rugged terrain creates numerous micro-climates, caused by diverse elevation, slope orientation, wind exposure, rainfall, and shade levels. The land varies significantly over short distances, allowing producers to grow coffees with distinctive regional flavour profiles.

Varieties

Some of the most respected coffee varieties grown in Costa Rica include Cattura, Catuai, Villa Sarchí (a Costa Rica mutation of Bourbon), SL28 (grown by some specialty producers), and Geisha (limited but highly sought after).

Different growing regions produce distinct flavour profiles.

• Tarrazú: Bright citrus, chocolate, caramel, and a crisp finish. One of the country's most famous regions.
• West Valley: Honey sweetness, stone fruit, and floral notes.
• Central Valley: Balanced chocolate, nuts, and mild fruit.
• Tres Ríos: Elegant acidity with citrus, honey, and spice.
• Brunca: Fuller body with cocoa and tropical fruit notes.

Pioneering cultivation and sustainability

Costa Rica is highly regarded for its nationally recognized practices—such as hand-picking, sustainable cultivation, high-altitude farming, and exceptional quality standards—and individual farm-specific innovation, particularly in processing methods and micro-mill operations.

The country is famous for pioneering honey processing, where some of the sticky fruit mucilage is left on the bean during drying. Different amounts of mucilage create white, yellow, red, and black honey processes, each producing different flavour notes. This often produces coffees with more sweetness, jammy fruit flavours, creamier body, and retained brightness. You will also find excellent washed coffees and increasingly sophisticated natural-process coffees.

Many coffee farms use practices such as conserving forests and wildlife habitat, protecting watersheds and rivers, reducing chemical pesticide use through integrated pest management, composting coffee pulp as natural fertilizer, recycling water used during coffee processing, and maintaining shade trees to support biodiversity and regulate temperature.

How to enjoy it

Perhaps the best way to appreciate a Costa Rica coffee is to brew it simply—such as a pour-over or traditional filter—and taste it with intention. Notice how the sweetness balances the bright acidity, how the flavours evolve as the coffee cools, and how clean the finish remains. It is often a coffee that reveals more with patience than with intensity.

When in Costa Rica, be sure to try the chorreador, a simple wooden stand holding a cloth filter (bolsa), through which hot water is poured over freshly ground coffee. The resulting brew is clean, smooth, and highlights the coffee's natural sweetness and acidity,

In many ways, Costa Rica coffee reflects the values that have shaped its reputation: care over speed, quality over quantity, and respect for both the land and the people who cultivate it. Those qualities are often as memorable as the flavours themselves.

Experience the beauty of Costa Rica in our exceptional single origin coffees.

Volcán Azul Coffee 
A truly unique experience in the cup, this coffee is cultivated by a family that oversees an estate with large extensions of rainforest, carefully selects coffee varietals, and monitors each crop closely. The estate ensures that the beans are harvested only when the correct level of ripeness is achieved while the processed beans are milled on the estate to achieve the desired flavour. This harvest has gained international recognition for its impressive aromatic acidity, mild flavour and harmonic body. With its exemplary character, this brew features amongst the best in the world.

Volcán Azul Gesha Coffee
An exclusive award-winning micro-batch with unique exotic qualities, this variety is grown at altitudes over 1,500 metres on the slopes of the Poás volcano and is carefully handpicked when the cherries reach optimum ripeness. Gesha coffee produces sticky honey notes with a dark chocolate liquor accented by an acidity reminiscent of Mirabelle plums. Absolutely divine.

Volcán Azul Red Honey Coffee
Cultivated by an exceptional plantation in the heart of the Costa Rican rainforest, this red honey harvest is produced by leaving a portion of the fleshy mucilage on the bean. Processed under shade to slow down the drying time, the resulting cup features notes of dried fruit and chocolate, and leaves a delicate sweetness on the palate. 

Naranjo Mountain Coffee
Cultivated at altitudes of 1,200 to 1,700 metres, the coffee cherries are hand-selected to ensure only the ripest berries are collected from this estate, which is renowned for its nutrient-rich soil, warm gentle climate, and excellent location in the highlands. This harvest boasts a delicate malty flavour with nutty overtones and a bright aftertaste of fresh citrus.