Costa Rica Coffee

Costa Rica Coffee - Since the 19th century Costa Rican coffee has been exported around the world and is widely famed for its quality. This popular drink has had a huge impact on the country’s history and development.

Costa Rica was largely overlooked by the Spaniards, who considered it one of the least profitable outposts of their empire, but the country’s fortunes began to change dramatically at the beginning of the 19th century.

The discovery that the fertile volcanic soil and fresh climate of inland Costa Rica, primarily the Central Valley, provided the perfect environment for the cultivation of coffee beans was a momentous one.

By the time of independence in 1821 the first beans had been exported and the government, realising the potential of developing a full-scale Costa Rica coffee industry, was strongly promoting the idea by handing out free saplings to farmers in the Central Valley.

Throughout the 1830s the beans were sent to South America to be processed and mixed with other varieties before being transported on to Europe, but in 1844 local growers seized their chance to send a visiting English merchant back to London with a large cargo of coffee.It was an instant hit and word soon spread about Costa Rica Coffee internationally; a trade had begun that would see once impoverished Costa Rica transformed into the wealthiest nation in Central America by the end of the century.

Coffee in Costa Rica

Finding a good cup of coffee in Costa Rica is not quiet as straightforward as you might think. Considering the country’s status as one of the world’s major coffee-exporters, widely renowned for the quality and smoothness of its product, the general awfulness of much of the coffee served here can come as a bit of a shock.

Unfortunately, most of the good stuff, the golden bean is reserved for export; although you will it sold in the country’s better hotels and restaurants.

The majority of cafes and restaurant sell lower-quality blends, some of which are even pre-sweetened in accordance with local sweet-toothed tastes and are pretty ghastly.

Café Britt is the country’s main and most visible supplier of quality coffee. You’ll see their bags for sale in pretty much every supermarket in the country. They also operate a very good café serving speciality coffees in the Teatro Nacional in San Jose and you can take a tour of their Valle Central plantation to see the coffee-harvesting process in action. Return from Costa Rica Coffee to Home Page