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Welcome to Finca Rica Coffee! The best coffee in Costa Rica
Information
"coffee blom"
Coffee of Costa Rica
Can a coffee be too perfect? That's the criticism leveled at the coffees from Costa Rica - too balanced, too clean, too mild. We categorize this type of coffee as the "classic cup," the traditional balanced coffee that has no defects or taints. Coffee cuppers call it "clean." But there's can be more to a Costa Rican coffee. They are prized for their high notes: bright citrus or berry-like flavors in the acidity. And in the best cups they fade into chocolate or spice flavors in the aftertaste ...
At the beginning of the Twentieth Century, coffee quickly became Costa Rica's principal export and the pivot of its economy.Coffee plantations, both large and small, expanded the length and breadth of the Central Valley
"coffee areas of Costa Rica"
Little by little, Costa Rica diversified its agricultural production.However, at the beginning of the Twenty-First Century, coffee still continues to be the "golden crop."The fertile Tico soil, the country's environmentally-friendly policies, its high standards of production, and the industrious labor of thousands of Costa Ricans who work in the coffee plantations, have ensured that Costa Rican coffee has become synonymous with exquisiteness and quality.
Despite the passing of time, the superior-quality coffee tradition of Costa Rica continues.
The Process
The largest growing areas are San Jose, Alajuela, Heredia, Puntarenas, and Cartago provinces. Costa Rican coffee is high in both quality and caffeine content and it is often blended with inferior varieties. Local coffee, set at a much lower government-controlled local price, is tinted to prevent diversion to the export market. Coffee production depends upon cheap, seasonal labor, most of which has come from Nicaraguan immigrants that cross over due to Costa Rica's low unemployment and higher standard of living . Workers receive only around 60 ¢ to $1.50 per basket picked. Each cajuela weights around 15 lbs. And a good worker can fill as many as 12 per day. Although it seems incredibly low, this rates are proportional to other agricultural salaries, whose minimum is set by government mandate.
The hand picked berries are trucked to beneficios (processing plants), where they are scrubbed and washed to remove the fruity outer layer and dissolve the gummy substance surrounding the bean. the pulp is returned to the slopes as fertilizer and was sometimes dumped in rivers, until a recent enforcement of health laws put a stop to most of it. The moist beans are then laid out to dry in the sun in the traditional manner. The leather skin of the bean is then removed by machine-rubbing, and the beans are sorted according to size and shape before being vacuum-sealed to retain the fragrance and slight touch of acidity characteristic of the great vintages of Costa Rica.
Roasting Coffee
Roasting coffee transforms the chemical and physical properties of green coffee beans into roasted coffee products.
The roasting process is integral to producing a savory cup of coffee. When roasted, the green coffee bean expands to nearly double its original size, changing in color and density. As the bean absorbs heat, the color shifts to yellow and then to a light "cinnamon" brown then to a dark and oily color. During roasting oils appear on the surface of the bean. The roast will continue to darken until it is removed from the heat source.
At lighter roasts, the bean will exhibit more of its "origin flavor" - the flavors created in the bean by the soil and weather conditions in the location where it was grown. Darkness
A note on flavor: Describing the tastes of different roasts is as subjective as putting a wine into words. In both cases there’s no substitute for your own personal taste, for sample
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Aliases |
Roaster Watch |
Surface |
Flavor |
| Light |
Cinnamon roast, half city, New England |
After about minutes the beans “pop” and double in size, and light roasting is achieved. American mass-market roasters typically stop here. |
Dry |
Light-bodied and somewhat sour, grassy, and snappy |
| Medium |
Full city, American, regular, breakfast, brown |
At minutes the beans reach this roast, which U.S. specialty sellers tend to prefer. |
Dry |
A bit sweeter than light roast; full body balanced by acid snap, aroma, and complexity |
| Dark |
High, Viennese, Italian Espresso, Continental |
After minutes the beans begin hissing and popping again, and oils rise to the surface. Roasters from the U.S. Northwest generally remove the beans at this point. |
Slightly shiny |
Somewhat spicy; complexity is traded for rich chocolaty body, aroma is exchanged for sweetness |
| Darkest |
French |
After minutes or so the beans grow quiet and begin to smoke. Having carmelized, the bean sugars begin to carbonize. |
Very oily |
Smokey; tastes primarily of roasting, not of the inherent flavor of the bean |
 roasting coffee
Roasting is simple in theory: The beans must be heated, kept moving so they don't burn or roast unevenly, and cooled, or quenched, when the right moment has come to stop the roasting. Coffee that is not roasted long enough or hot enough to bring out the oil has a pasty, nutty, or bread-like flavor. Coffee roasted too long or at too high a temperature is thin-bodied, burned, and industrial-flavored. Coffee roasted too long at too low a temperature has a baked flavor.
"Coffee Roaster"
"gold bean", before gets roasted
sun dry
( process takes 7 days)
Coffee from the Central Valley
"San Ramon coffee plantation"
Like an aristocrat from the capital this sophisticated coffee has excellent cup characteristics and a chocolate-y flavor. The first coffee plantations in Costa Rica were established in the Central Valley, spreading from there to other areas.
Central Valley coffee is grown only at high altitudes, with two volcanoes - Poás and Barva - standing guard over the nests of plantations. The two volcanos enrich the soils working together with the excellent climate of this region. Located on the Pacific watershed, the Central Valley's coffee-growing lands benefit from two well-defined seasons, with rainfall averaging a total of 118 inches over 155 days in the year. Temperatures are stable, averaging 19º C (66º F), and sunlight ranges between 44% and 54% over 2,150 hours.
Although relative humidity is 84%, the Central Valley's late-ripening coffee cherries are characterized by their physical hardness and closed fissure, which help to preserve their outstanding quality.
Altitude: 1,200 to 1,600 m. (approx. 3,950 to 5,260 feet)
Acidity: high
Body: good
Aroma: good
Picking season: November to mid-March
in the Central Valley
Red beans ready to be pick up
Green beans on the plant
Arabica Coffee
Coffea arabica is a species of coffee indigenous to Ethiopia. It is also known as the "coffee shrub of Arabia", "mountain coffee" or "arabica coffee". Coffea arabica is believed to be the first species of coffee to be cultivated, being grown in southwest Arabia for well over 1,000 years. It is considered to produce better coffee than the other major commercially grown coffee species, Coffea canephora (robusta). Arabica contains less caffeine than any other commercially cultivated species of coffee. Wild plants grow to between 7-12 m tall, and have an open branching system; the leaves are opposite, simple elliptic-ovate to oblong, 6-12 cm long and 4-8 cm broad, glossy dark green. The flowers are produced in axillary clusters, each flower white, and 1-1.5 cm diameter. The fruit is a berry 10-15 mm long, maturing bright red to purple, containing two seeds (the coffee 'bean').
History and Legend
According to legend, human cultivation of coffee began after goats in Ethiopia were seen becoming frisky after eating the leaves and fruits of the coffee tree. In reality, human consumption of coffee fruits probably began long before humans took up pastoralism. In Ethiopia there are still some locales where people drink a tisane made from the leaves of the coffee tree.
The first written record of coffee, made from roasted coffee beans, comes from Arabian scholars who wrote that it was useful in prolonging their working hours. The Arab innovation of making a brew from roasted beans, spread first among the Egyptians and Turks and later on found its way around the world.
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