Move Over Juan Valdez . . . Make Room For Tarrazu
When many Americans think of coffee they think of the smiling coffee grower, his
mule, and Columbian coffee (excellent brand marketing, by the way). However,
they tend to overlook the many other fine gourmet quality coffees produced in
Central and South America.
Costa Rican Tarrazu
is one of those coffees.
Interestingly, it was only about 50 years before our war of independence when
French army officer Gabriel Mathieu de Clieu, while stationed in Martinique on
leave in France in 1723, stole coffee seedlings from the Jardin des Plantes in
Paris.
After a long voyage back to Martinique in which only one seeding survived,
Gabriel planted the seedling in his garden. The plant showed extraordinary
strength and about five years later he harvested about two pounds of seeds.
Within only 50 years, an official survey recorded almost 19,000,000 coffee trees
growing on the island. Yes, Gabriel's progeny soon dotted the entire West Indies
and eventually spread to the mainlands of Central and South America.
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Ideal For Growing Gourmet Coffee
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Nearly all of Costa Rican coffee worthy of mention – and qualifying as
gourmet quality coffee – is grown in the high mountain volcanic soils of
Costa Rica's central valley. The best grades of Costa Rican coffee are grown
in four districts surrounding the capitol of San Jose.
These four districts – Tarrazu, Tres Rios, Heredia and Alajuela – are ideal
locations for the cultivation of coffee. The water and soil, rich and deep
with a thick humus layer of volcanic origin, along with the climate, are
irreplaceable factors that make the coffee grown in these areas truly
gourmet quality.
The elevation, temperature, and rainfall are ideal for coffee production. The
combination of ideal climactic conditions with outstanding soils produces a
hard, dense bean, rich in essential oils that produce an intensely aromatic cup
of coffee overflowing with rich flavor.
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Grading, Naming . . . and Drinking!
Costa Rican coffee beans are graded by the hardness of the bean. This is
determined by the altitude at which they are grown. "Strictly hard bean" (SHB)
indicates coffee grown above 3,900 feet, "good hard bean" (GHB) at 3,300 to 3,900
feet, followed by "medium hard bean" (MHB) grown at 1,600 to 3,300 feet. Costa
Rican coffees grown in the Atlantic area carry that fact in their names, as in
High Grown Atlantic which is favored by the European nations.
You'll find all Costa Rican coffees are Arabica beans. Here's their "market
names" – Tarrazu, Tres Rios, Cartago, San Jose, Curridabat, San Ramon, Heredia,
Montes de Oca, Naranjo and Sabanilla.
Of the coffee grown in Central American, Costa Rican coffee is the strongest and
perhaps the best to blend with any other coffees. Now keep in mind that there
are much lesser grades of Costa Rican coffee beans, but they are sold
specifically for "blending" with much of the higher volume "commercial" blends.
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