Cupping the coffees of Costa Rica.

In the effort to characterize the taste of coffee, the coffees of Costa Rica have often been held up as the standard reference. This somewhat accurate portrayal both praises and demeans them - praises them as the apotheosis of coffee flavor while at once insinuating they are nothing but a "pretty

face" in the cup, lacking all interest. And, indeed, the coffees do lack the famous wineyness of Kenyas, the smoky allure of Guatemalas, the silky and sonorous mouthfeel of a perfect Sumatra, the caramelly sweetness of a Colombian; because of their balance, they lack almost any immediately distinguishing feature except a notable harmony of all the basic taste, flavor, and tactual components. In exchange for a chance at perfection, the things that are not found in a cup of Costa Rican coffee somehow seem unimportant.

In All About Coffee by William H. Ukers, M.A., second edition, 1935, Costa Rican coffees are described as "rich in body, of fine, mild flavor, sharply acid, and superior for blending purposes..." The producing regions mentioned are Cartago, San Jose, Alajuela, Grecia, Tres Rios, Heredia, and Juan Vinas. Tarrazu is not mentioned as a distinct producing region. (Tarrazu, one of Costa Rica's most respected producing regions today, had only begun being developed when this edition of All About Coffee was published.)

In Coffee Basics, An Insiders' Guide to Great Coffee by Kevin Knox and Julie Huffaker (John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1996) Costa Rican coffees receive one of the longest descriptions of all the major origins. Despite this, mentioned are only the two regions which the authors consider the best, Tres Rios and Tarrazu. The Tres Rios coffees are described as "mild, sweet, and flawless with bright acidity and great consistency from cup to cup." The marks Bellavista and La Magnolia are mentioned as being exemplary. Tarrazus are credited with being Costa Rica's best coffees with "heavier body than Tres Rios varieties, along with a sculpted aromatic complexity." Certain Tarrazus, the authors continue, can be "compelling, forceful coffee with notes of chocolate, tropical fruit, and a multidimensional, vinous acidity kissed by the honey (miel) of the fermentation tanks."

The Instituto Del Cafe de Costa Rica (ICAFE) divides the coffees of Costa Rica into eight categories: Tarrazu, Tres Rios, Central Valley Strictly Hard Bean, Strictly Hard Bean, Good Hard Bean, Central Hard Bean, Southern Hard Bean, and High Grown Atlantic. According to ICAFE, the Tarrazus - harvested between January and March - have a "distinctive, intense flavor" that "fills the mouth" and "produces a delicious espresso." The coffees of Tres Rios are "smooth, well balanced" and have "an intense, complex aroma." The Central Valley Strictly Hard Beans, which are grown on the slopes of the Poas and Barva Volcanos, produce coffee of "excellent body and finesse." The Strictly Hard Beans, that is, the strictly hard beans not categorized as being any of the preceding coffees, are said to have "fine body, excellent acidity, and delicious aroma" and must be grown at elevations of at least 4,000 feet but seldom above 6,000 feet. The Good Hard Beans are grown between 3,000-4,000 feet and are credited with "good acidity, very good body, and excellent aroma." Central Hard Beans, grown between 2,500 feet and 4,000 feet in the Western Central Valley, have "medium acidity, good body and aroma." Southern Hard Beans are harvested during September and October, a month earlier than the preceding coffee, but are otherwise similar in the cup. The High Grown Atlantics have "balanced body and aroma," according to ICAFE.

It is admittedly difficult for a government agency such as ICAFE to go very far in characterizing the differences between the coffees produced in the various regions of the country. Even the most general of classifications engender potential conflict between the farmers and processors from various growing areas. Further, if a coffee is said to be a reference standard for all other coffees, then it seems almost contradictory to then go about separating the coffees by regional characteristics. How many different reference standards can there be, after all?

But there are notable differences between the coffees of the various producing regions in Costa Rica. Many cuppers who are familiar with these coffees break the nation's coffees down into several more subcategories. Bill McAlpin, owner of Hacienda La Minita, and also a shipper of several well-respected regional coffees, characterizes the coffees of Costa Rica with somewhat more complexity than do the published materials of ICAFE. "Starting with the Northern Side of the Central Valley," McAlpin says, "we have Naranjo, Palmar, and Alajuela these coffees are powerfully acidic, but balanced, classic blenders, excellent for dark roasts. The eastern side, around Coronado, produces good coffees but they lack the acidity and force of character of the previous coffees. Similar coffees are produced, near Heredia and up along the northern side of Volcan Irazu. Tres Rios produces coffees which are sweet and pleasant, excellent coffees which, while they aren't Costa Rica's most powerful coffees, are extremely balanced. Eastward over the mountains from Tres Rios are High Grown Atlantic coffees which are well-balanced as well but have somewhat less acidity and, due to the much rainier climate, are much softer beans which are best suited for light roasts; I compare the neutral, sometimes sweet coffees of this area to Konas.

"The coffees from the south side of the Central Plateau, which include coffees from Escazu and Los Anonos, come close to the quality and style of the coffees from Tres Rios. Further south, on the Pacific side toward San Ysidro, the hard bean coffees are somewhat denser than those from the Atlantic side and have a little more brightness as well. In the southernmost areas, toward San Vito, the coffees begin to resemble more closely the coffees of Panama. Indeed, were the area not separated by a national border, they would be more properly included with other coffees from that country rather than Costa Rica."

Although one of the last regions to be developed for coffee production, Tarrazu has become one of Costa Rica's most respected coffee producing areas located in the Los Santos area (so named because most of the towns in this area bear the names of saints including San Marcos and Santa Maria). It is for this region, where McAlpin's farm, Hacienda La Minita, is located, that he reserves the greatest praise. "Tarrazus are one of the world's best coffees, they are both sweet and powerful, with unsurpassed acidity and tremendous body. If you take this coffee and put it next to a Kenyan coffee, it won't have that distinctive blackberry note, but it will have just as much acidity as all but the most tart of the Kenyas. Moreover, Tarrazus can have a hint of the wineyness which Kenyas are so famous for as well. Conversely, if you put it next to a Sumatran, famous for its body; you'll probably find that the Tarrazu has just as much body, and it certainly won't be earthy in the bargain. All the characteristics of this powerful coffee are deceptively unobtrusive because all of the components come together with such poise."

While it might be easy to write off McAlpin's eloquent and passionate portrayal of Tarrazus as biased, it might be more useful to wonder why other farmers from some of the world's greatest production areas do not describe their coffees with equal force and conviction. If they did, the coffee industry might derive more of its growth from an appreciation for the quality and variety of the world's best coffees rather than from the appeal of the latest flavored/bottled/milk-blended permutation to hit the shelf or drink bar counter.

The coffees of Tres Rios perhaps deserve further mention. While gentler than the Tarrazus, they have an overall complexity and elegance that can be quite pleasing. The best are brightly acidic with an almost citrusy tang. They have a finish reminiscent of fine, aged cognac. Some of the better known marks from this region are Bellavista, Rayo Del Sol, and La Magnolia.

George Howell, formerly president of The Coffee Connection in Boston, Massachusetts, avers that the best of the Tarrazus are second to none. "In the character of the finest Tarrazus, there is a subtle combination of flavors combined with very heavy body and excellent acidity. When roasted perfectly, just before or just into the second pop, depending on the development, I find delicious notes of peaches and maple syrup. Other Tarrazus, from the Southern side, can be winier, with a certain wildness, pronounced fruitiness, and a chocolate note." Howell emphasized that the roast for these coffees is extremely important and that it was easy to miss out on a lot of the complexity to be found in a Tarrazu by either too light or too dark a roast. "You will still have a great cup of coffee but you will miss out on a lot of the nuance and subtlety."

Costa Rica, one of the leading and most professional producers of specialty coffees, has an embarrassment of riches when it comes to reliable trademarks, too numerous to mention here. Many roasters spend years searching for the specific mark that suits their needs and preferences; the task, though time consuming, is certainly a pleasant and rewarding one as well - and one that all coffee professionals are encouraged to undertake.

The Water Problem

Processors of washed coffees will increasingly face two problems as regions of coffee production become increasingly developed. The first is that development in general will limit the supply of fresh, clean water with which to process coffee. The second concern is that with development, coffee processors will become just one of many businesses and residences in need of water and, therefore, will face increasing pressure to conserve what water there is.

In Costa Rica, the water problem and efforts to address it are somewhat more advanced than in other countries due to the country's more advanced stage of development. It is not unusual to find developments of condominiums or even, in one instance at least, a tract of lavish single family homes sitting cheek by jowl next to a coffee farm.

The coffee industry is certainly doing its share to conserve water. Stemming from an agreement between ICAFE, other governmental ministries, and coffee processors signed in 1992, coffee processors now use 4% of the water they previously used to process the same amount of coffee. Much of this conservation was achieved by developing methods for transporting coffee into and through the milling process without the use of water. Some of the conservation has come from recirculating water used during the actual washing, depulping, and fermentation of the coffee, however, and it is unclear if this change has had any impact on the taste of the coffee produced.

Coffee processors are also taking steps to purify the water they use before returning it to the rivers and streams from which they take it. With the use of sedimentation tanks and anaerobic oxidation lagoons, coffee processors are able to return the water they've used to the lakes and streams from which they take it in pretty much the same condition, thus not disrupting the ecological balance. (The problem in the past is that the water used in coffee processing would have excess biomass, encouraging the growth of unwanted algae and thereby choking off other plant or animal life living in or near the water.)

Of greater, or at least more immediate, concern to Costa Rica's coffee processors is the quality of the water-with which they are starting out. In the past, Costa Rica had ample supplies Of fresh clean water for washing coffee. It is not always the case now that all coffee processors can claim this. Some coffee processors have even had to move to more remote locations in order to find water clean enough with which to wash their coffee. While this problem is not rampant, it is one which is being watched carefully by farmers, processors, and the government.

Compounding the challenges that processors faced during the 1995/96 crop year was an unseasonable rain shortly before harvest which made it necessary to bring the entire crop within a window of only a few days. "Not only were we faced with implementing an entirely new method of water management," one processor remembers, "we had to learn and perfect it within a few days. The result was that we lost a lot of coffee. For the coming crop, however, I believe that we understand the water issue, and it is unlikely we will be faced with the same level of difficulty again."

Water quality, both before and after the processing of coffee, is an issue which all origins producing washed coffees will have to address. The Costa Rican coffee community, although goaded on by necessity, deserves much credit for facing the problem and coming to grips with it in a competent manner, especially given the extremely difficult circumstances of the previous crop year.