Costa Rica Coffee

Costa Ricans have rich coffee history
June 3, 2009

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The law requires you to plant and grow coffee on your property. Not much, just a few shrubs that you will be asked to tend so that they produce coffee cherries.

Of course, that is not required of people in the United States. But at one time it was apparently the law of the land in Costa Rica.

While many citizens of Costa Rica would rightfully take umbrage at yet more government interference into their private lives and property, at least one nice thing did result from that old mandate in Costa Rica — the country and its citizens became very good at producing very good coffee.

Costa Rica is peppered with both large cooperative coffee plantations and small independent farms, big co-op mills that service the large farms and small micro-mills that the lone farmer and his family operate to process their own crops.

Costa Rica has an excellent climate and soil for growing coffee (along with fine cigar tobacco, a double bonus for the country). Flanked by the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea, the country benefits from warm tropical winds and rain. Volcanic mountain ranges also bookend a central highland plain area of rich volcanic soil. You could hardly ask for better growing conditions.

I recently enjoyed a cup of drip-brewed Costa Rican from the Tarazzu region, more or less in the center of the country, south of San Jose. This region is dense with coffee farms and estates, as it is deemed one of the best locations for growing coffee in a country rife with ideal conditions. The high altitude, rich soil and shade conditions favor a slow growth that helps produce outstanding Arabica coffee.

Coffees from this region of Costa Rica are generally described by the coffee terms "classic" and "clean," meaning that they are silky smooth, without defects and extremely well balanced. Sometimes the best examples of a clean cup are also so clean as to be almost uninteresting, with nothing that stands out or grabs your attention. Of course, a lot can happen from tree to cup to influence the coffee you end up drinking.

The particular Costa Rican Tarazzu coffee that I was drinking was not what I would describe as a classic cup. It was, however, quite good. I spoke with the barista and asked about the coffee. They did not roast their own coffee on site, but purchased it from a well-known, high quality roasting company that supplies coffee shops all over the United States. It had been roasted to an upper medium or full-city roast and was only a week off the roast.

The aroma was pleasing, not overpowering at all but light and fresh and hinting of garden cucumbers still on the vine. The drink was smooth, yet displayed a little brightness or acidity. It also impressed with a note of citrus and even a little nuttiness, almost like a blanched, unsalted peanut. The aftertaste wasn't so great, being a little too acidic for me to give it five stars out of five (that is, if I used a star rating system).

Overall, it was a very good coffee.

It struck me that it might have been the perfect coffee for the warm, sunny spring morning we had that day. Gone (hopefully) were the last remnants of winter, when I seem to be drawn to heavier, heartier and bolder coffees. Spring calls for a change of attitude and a change in coffees. I guess serendipity was with me that spring day.

David Smith is a co-owner of Stumpjack Coffee Company in Two Rivers. E-mail stumpjack@gmail.com.