Tarrazú coffee is referred to as a "classically complete" coffee -- a sweet aroma, aromatic complexity,  full body, pleasant acidity and a delicate clean aftertaste with rich chocolate and nutty undertones.  The small Tarrazu region, in the high mountains is located in southern pacific region south of the capital of Costa Rica, is the most densely planted high altitude region.  Tarrazú is celebrated as the region in Costa Rica for the best volcanic soils and highest altitudes. Because they grows at high altitudes and on volcanic soil, these shade grown coffee cherries ripen more slowly which give it a rich and hearty flavor.

The quality of Costa Rican coffee is influenced by the geography and climate. The combination of volcanic soil, cool moist climate, temperature, sunlight, and wet and dry seasons all combine to result in the right formula. This Costa Rica coffee has more flavor and regular gourmet coffee varieties. It takes longer to roast the harder beans from Tarrazu compared to coffees grown in regions close to the ocean and located in lower elevations. Weight loss is less compared to other coffee beans which results in a stronger and more dense coffee bean.

The farmers are the heart of the operation since they are expert coffee growers who honor the land and have lived all of their lives honing their trade; they come from families that have been involved in farming and exporting Costa Rica coffees for three generations. The farm is managed by its owners who take care of all aspects the process: from planting the trees, hand tending the trees, hand picking the coffee, to preparing the coffee cherries for shipping. Over the generations these coffee growers grew to love and respect the land and became concerned about protecting the environment.  As they became more aware of ecological issues, being a people who strongly believe that they have a duty to care for the planet, our coffee producers and processor joined forces to ensure that coffee production does not damage the environment.

Costa Rica coffee from Tarrazu has been recognized as one of the great gourmet coffees of the world.  Using this superb raw material, they take the time, the effort and cost to prepare a coffee that no one can match. The coffee plant cherries must be harvested at the right time to provide the optimum flavor. Each tree is visited up to four times so that only the best of the fruit is picked. All our Costa Rican coffee harvest  is picked by hand to ensure the quality of the bean.

Unfortunately, unlike our 100% Tarrazu,  many Tarrazu coffee brands are not 100% pure Tarrazu coffee. This high quality Costa Rica coffee is in short supply and is mixed in with other Costa Rica coffee regions to increase the profits and raise the taste quality. These brands should actually be called Costa Rica Tarrazu Coffee Blends but pass themselves off as the real thing. Costa Rica coffee from Tarrazu is also used to elevate the quality of many other gourmet coffee blends.  

Hand Crafted for the best beans. All coffee beans are shade grown, handpicked, selected for the hardest beans, sun dried, processed & packed on the Estate, then shipped to the United States for custom roasting. When the coffee is processed and packed on an Estate, you are assured of pure regional coffee, not a blend or mix of coffees from several farms or regions!

Custom Roasted for GMHP by Cafe Cortez. After selecting only the best coffee beans, we roast them in a consistently perfect manner with techniques approved by the SCAA (Specialty Coffee Association of America).

Fresh Roasted: We typically roast your coffee within 24 hours of shipping.  This way you received the best coffee for your cup possible!  Packaged in 8 ounce,

Arabica, High-Altitude, Hand-Picked, Strictly Hard Bean, gourmet coffee, processed under the most rigid quality standards.  Shade Grown: Our Arabica coffees comes from a more delicate, higher-altitude tree and grows at a lower temperature and receives only 2 hours of direct sunlight a day. The Arabica bean is harder and has a denser aroma. We roast our coffee with the most advanced roasting techniques to ensure the best final product. We only import coffee from the most recent crop, which makes a real difference in both taste and aroma.

Cafe Cortez is a 3rd generation Costa Rican coffee company. The family has known and loved coffee and the land since birth. This honor of their land and country have let them to respect and protect the environment and use sustainable growing practices as well as respect their workers and pay them a fair wage, as reflected in their More Than Fair Certification.