Costa Rica Tarrazú Honey Coffee

A honey-process coffee from Tarrazú, one of Costa Rica's eight coffee regions. It pairs orange brightness with honey, almond and a little stone fruit, and a Chemex's thick paper filter keeps the cup clean and sweet.

Origin & Story

Tarrazú is one of Costa Rica's eight official coffee regions, and for many coffee drinkers it is the first one that comes to mind. It lies about 70 kilometers south of San José. Tarrazú became a canton in 1868, and it shares the Los Santos zone with its neighbors Dota and León Cortés Castro. The market town of San Marcos sits at 1,350 meters, with peaks around it rising to about 3,000.

Most of the coffee grows between roughly 1,200 and 1,700 meters, where the air is cool and the soil is volcanic. Cherries ripen slowly at that height. The harvest falls in the drier months, from about November into February, when pickers work through the rows by hand, choosing only the ripe red fruit.

Tarrazú coffees are usually described as bright and full-bodied, and honey processing suits them. Leaving some of the fruit on the bean as it dries adds sweetness and body to a coffee that is already lively. Here the sweetness meets the brightness: orange and stone fruit up front, honey and almond underneath, and a finish that stays clean.

Costa Ricans have their own way of brewing coffee at home, the chorreador, a wooden stand that holds a cloth filter bag. It has been in use since the 1800s. A Chemex is a close cousin, a pour-over through a thick paper filter, and it gives a cup just as clean. Use water at 93°C, a medium-fine grind and 60 g of coffee to a liter of water.

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