Costa Rica Cerro Dragon Honey Geisha SHB 2023

Coffee from Costa Rica’s Tarrazú Region

Luis Fernando Prado might be a relatively new producer in the Tarrazú region, but he’s already achieving great heights in coffee with some of the highest-quality geisha microlots this harvest. From day one, Luis set his sights on quality and continuous improvement in his farming techniques. After milling at the Cerro Dragon micro mill, one hundred percent of his coffee is sun-dried on raised African beds or patios.

Tarrazú is the most famous – and highest-producing – coffee region in Costa Rica. The canton was awarded Denomination of Origin status in 2019, and its distinctive cup profile, with fine acidity and full body, is why green coffee from Tarrazú is differentiated from the broader Los Santos area. Here, the focus is on quality over quantity, and coffee farms can be found throughout altitudes ranging from 1,200 to 1,800masl.

Geisha Green Coffee

Geisha, or gesha, coffee beans are some of the most expensive in the world. The highly sought-after varietal is low-yielding and delicate, sensitive to environmental changes, plant disease, and pests during cultivation. It also tastes unlike any other coffee out there. The floral, tea-like character of geisha green coffee is highly coveted among specialty coffee drinkers, and it consistently scores highly on cupping tables, auction rankings, competition stages, and rave reviews.

Honey Processing in Costa Rica

Costa Rica is a pioneer of the honey process, a technique that hits the sweet spot between natural and washed processes to achieve the best of both worlds. Cherries are immediately de-pulped after harvesting, but instead of soaking the seeds in water, they’re left out to dry, mucilage and all, to ferment with partial contact with the remaining fruit.

The honey process coffee limits the amount of water needed to wash the beans and speeds up the drying time by removing some of the fruit. This process avoids the risk of over-fermented flavors but adds sweetness and body from the prolonged contact with the partial fruit matter. That’s how honey process coffee gets the sweetness of naturals while balancing the brightness of washed coffee at the same time.

Costa Rican Green Coffee Quality

A Strictly Hard Bean (SHB) green coffee must be grown at an altitude of 1,200 meters above sea level or higher. When coffee grows at high altitudes, the coffee cherries mature more slowly. This allows the fruit to take in more nutrients, resulting in denser, sweeter coffee beans that are considered higher quality. During dry milling, the lot was further hand-sorted to European Preparation (EP) specifications with a minimum screen size of 15 and above and a maximum of eight defects within 300 grams.

Costa Rica Green Coffee

Costa Rica coffees sell at a premium. The country has a reputation for delivering high quality and innovation – a winning combination. Costa Rica’s quality socio-economic infrastructure programs, such as universal healthcare, high education levels, sophisticated agronomy and research, and well-regulated agricultural sustainability programs, certainly contribute to the high cost of coffee. Additionally, when coffee roasters buy Costa Rican green coffee, producers receive nearly 80% of the FOB value, guaranteed. Read more in our Costa Rica Green Coffee Origin Report.