Costa Rica

by Nick Johnston / Nov 21, 2022

Arabica was the first coffee planted in Costa Rica toward the end of the 1700s. Although widespread cultivation in the country was slow, Costa Rica eventually became the first Central American country to have a coffee industry.

 

For decades, farmers transported coffee to the coasts in traditional oxcarts, an arduous journey lasting 10-15 days. Using the profits from coffee's exponential growth, Costa Rica's first network of railroads was completed in the 1890s. Today, coffee remains a key export, and environmental preservation is crucial.

 

This small nation is quickly becoming a leader in the specialty micro-lot movement, with small growers pioneering experimental varietals and techniques designed to preserve and protect the country's many precious microclimates—a win for coffee growers and coffee lovers around the world.