• Flight Centre Home
  • Blog Home
  • Destinations
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • Canada & USA
    • Europe & UK
    • Mexico & Caribbean
    • Oceania
  • Interests
    • Beach
    • Cuisine
    • Luxury
    • Wellness
    • Adventure
    • Off The Beaten Path
  • Travel Styles
    • Couples Travel
    • Solo Travel
    • Family Travel
    • Group Travel
    • Business Travel
    • Cruises
    • Tours
  • Book A Trip
    • Flights
    • Vacations
    • Better Beach
    • Destinations
    • Cruises
    • Tours
    • Deals
    • Groups
    • Business

Flight Centre Travel Blog

Banner
  • Flight Centre Home
  • Blog Home
  • Destinations
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • Canada & USA
    • Europe & UK
    • Mexico & Caribbean
    • Oceania
  • Interests
    • Beach
    • Cuisine
    • Luxury
    • Wellness
    • Adventure
    • Off The Beaten Path
  • Travel Styles
    • Couples Travel
    • Solo Travel
    • Family Travel
    • Group Travel
    • Business Travel
    • Cruises
    • Tours
  • Book A Trip
    • Flights
    • Vacations
    • Better Beach
    • Destinations
    • Cruises
    • Tours
    • Deals
    • Groups
    • Business
CuisineSouth & Central AmericaTours

What’s Brewing in Costa Rica?

by Emma Hackwood January 5, 2013
written by Emma Hackwood January 5, 2013
Costa Rica beach

After my first trip to Costa Rica, I have to say that this beautiful country really has it all: White water rafting, rappelling down waterfalls, swimming, surfing, hiking, horseback riding, kayaking, taking in the amazing diversity of plants and animals, and enjoying the delicious and unique drinks and meals.

Countless travellers have written about these amazing experiences and many others about the eco-tourism of Costa Rica. However, I’ve chosen to highlight a different topic because it deserves more coverage than it gets, and that is Costa Rican coffee!

It may seem a bit odd that this non-coffee drinker has decided to write about the near-legendary Costa Rican bean crop, particularly as I’m not big on the taste of coffee no matter how high the quality. However, I do so love the aroma of a good brew percolating away, and I can’t help but appreciate the work and commitment that goes into truly fine coffee, as the Costa Ricans have made a point of producing from start to finish. Knowing that they cannot compete in terms of sheer volume with mega coffee exporters like Colombia and Brazil, Costa Rica opted instead for quality versus quantity with their organic, fair-trade, hand-picked coffee beans.

My G Adventure tour group and I had the pleasure of visiting one of the many local family-owned and operated coffee plantations. (Many thanks go to Jorge, our plantation guide at El Trapiche, who you can see featured in many of these photos.)
Costa Rica coffee berries

Coffee plants begin producing berries about 3 years after planting. After that, only the new branches will grow berries each season while the inner branches remain bare. After several years of production, a bush must be replaced as it becomes much too large and leafy to be practical. Coffee berries in their raw form are surprisingly sweet! We were instructed only to suck these berries, as raw coffee berries are extremely high in caffeine, so it’s best just to taste the juice.

Costa Rican coffee farmers hand-pick their berries to ensure they only take the ripe ones. Mass-production coffee plantations in other countries harvest by machine, thus ending up with a percentage of green, unripe berries processed through to the final product. This reduces the quality of the flavour, which is a part of the reason Costa Rican coffee tastes so much better.

Costa Rica coffee plantation

Once collected, the berries have their outer fruit removed through machines like this. The fruit portion is used for a number of products, such as the natural flavouring used in coffee liqueurs like Kahlua. Any remainder is used in compost for the plantation.

A machine removes the very last, silken coating from the beans, which are then ready to be rinsed and dried. Various stages of drying beans, sun-warmed in greenhouses like this, starts the process of the distinct flavour we know in coffee. The beans are dried for several weeks before sorting and roasting.

Costa Rica coffee plantation

Before they are roasted, the beans go through this sorting machine, which organizes them based on size. The fattest beans have the best flavour, especially the “pearls” or “selfish twins”. Because there are two beans per berry, sometimes one of the beans takes the vast majority of the nutrients for itself, and thus the vast majority of the flavour. These “selfish twins” get sorted into the large bean batch, and are then hand-sorted again into their own grouping to produce the richest, most flavourful coffee available.

Costa Rica coffee plantation

Last but not least is the roasting. Each size grouping of beans are roasted in their own batch, and then either ground or left whole for export. Some coffee importers prefer to ship the beans from their dried stage to do their own roasting onsite. However this can actually diminish flavour as the dried beans lose more of their freshness during transportation than roasted beans, which keep their flavour for much longer.

The finished product: a perfect cup of Costa Rican coffee!

Costa Rica coffee

 

This plantation tour was part of the Costa Rica Quest tour with G Adventures. This tour will take you to the secluded spots only the locals know and I highly recommend it! It was absolutely phenomenal!

 

For more information on travelling to Costa Rica or with G Adventures, contact Deanna Henderson, who is a ‘Bucket List’ travel specialist at our Market Mall location in Calgary, Alberta. She can be reached via e-mail or by calling 1-866-295-4405.

coffeecoffee beanscoffee plantationcoffee plantscosta ricaCosta Rica Questcosta ricansG AdventuresSouth America
previous post
Top 5 Things to Do in Hawaii
next post
Our Top 10 Favourite Beaches

You may also like

6 Dreamy Luxury Vacations to Add to Your...

December 11, 2020

Ask Intrepid: How to Travel in 2021

October 28, 2020

Travel in Your Own Bubble with These Small...

October 22, 2020

Coming Soon… 10 Dreamy Destinations We’re Watching Closely

August 27, 2020

5 Reasons a Tour is the Perfect Way...

July 28, 2020

15+ All Inclusive Resorts for Foodies in Mexico...

July 15, 2020

5 “Sip-erb” Canadian Wine Regions Worth Planning a...

June 9, 2020

Celebrate International Jazz Day with All That Jazz

April 24, 2020

12 Travel Inspired Backgrounds to Spice Up Your...

April 15, 2020

7 Places to Go Without Moving an Inch

April 8, 2020

Popular Posts

  • 1

    Top 5 Vacation Spots Open to Canadians

    July 30, 2020
  • 2

    5 Signs You Need to Stop What You’re Doing and Call a Travel Agent

    January 5, 2021
  • 3

    What My Recent Riviera Maya Vacation was Really Like

    December 14, 2020
  • 4

    6 Dreamy Luxury Vacations to Add to Your Travel Wish List

    December 11, 2020
  • 5

    Travel in Your Own Bubble with These Small Group Tours

    October 22, 2020
  • 6

    Weddings & Reunion Trips: What a Difference an Expert Makes!

    September 8, 2020
  • 7

    Top 5 Places in Ontario to See Fall Colours

    September 23, 2014
  • 8

    A Message from Flight Centre Travel Group

    March 16, 2020
  • 9

    6 Québec Winter Carnaval Activities you Cannot Miss

    March 4, 2016
  • 10

    What Travellers Should Know About COVID-19

    March 5, 2020

Follow Us on Twitter

Tweets by @FlightCentreCa
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Youtube

© Flight Centre Travel Group (Canada) Inc


Back To Top