Costa Rican coffee has changed, so give some a try. 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. The growing trend of small coffee mills also gives coffees from this region an even larger variety of flavors and qualities, so it might be time to revisit this coffee.
If you already love Costa Rica coffee, no doubt it’s for the extremely mild, some say perfect, coffee flavor. Very mild with no bitterness, a very balanced flavor that’s worst criticism has always been its steadiness.Critics have determined that coffee from this region is failrly bland.The larger coffee-producing farms failed to make an effort to produce coffee that would please the general public.
These coffees were typically made from your average Arabica beans and produced on a mass scale. Today, smaller mills are becoming more and more popular in the region. 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.
How the coffee is processed has much to do with the quality and flavor, and each mill uses its own signature process or a combination to create different micro-brands of Costa Rica coffee.The first type of coffee grown there was Arabica coffee from Saudia Arabia. That was back in tehe 18th century. 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.Many of the workers are immigrants from the nearby countries like Nicaragua and their wages are only $12 to $18 per day.Because the wages are set by the government, a Costa Rican seasonal worker makes a pretty good living compated to other agricultural workers in the area.
The resurgance of Costa Rica coffee has grown world-side. If you’re a big fan of Arabica and Arabica blends, you might find that your new favorite type of mild and well-balanced coffee is indeed Costa Rica coffee.
