This hub is the deeper layer behind our Costa Rica Origins Guide: how we read regions, micromills, and process choices to pick lots that feel deliberate in the cup — not just pretty on paper. It’s where traceability, honey-process nuance, and clean washed profiles connect directly to what lands on your bar.
Costa Rica’s defining move was giving producers control: small and medium farms investing in their own mills, experimenting with process, and separating lots by variety, elevation, and day. When we buy here, we’re looking for partners who treat that control as a responsibility, not just a marketing line.
High-elevation plots and a family-run mill separating lots by day and variety. Classic washed and yellow honey profiles with crisp citrus, stone fruit, and honeyed sweetness — the kind of traceable lot we lean on for clean, modern Costa Rica expression.
A micromill known for disciplined honey processing: controlled mucilage levels, slow drying, and careful turning. We look here for lots where sweetness and texture deepen without losing clarity or pushing ferment.
Established farms on volcanic soils producing reliable washed profiles with cocoa, citrus, and balanced sweetness. These become foundations for approachable single origins and blend components with a clear story.
Costa Rica is where we go when we want precision: coffees that are easy to explain, easy to brew, and clearly connected to specific people and places. Each style below is a role we may fill as our sourcing deepens.
High-grown washed lots with citrus, stone fruit, floral lift, and honeyed sweetness. We use these to showcase Costa Rica’s precision and terroir without processing noise.
Role: Transparent, crowd-friendly specialty anchor.
Lots where controlled honey processing builds deeper sweetness and body while staying clean. Ideal for filter, modern espresso, and menus that want to talk about process in concrete terms.
Role: Storytelling coffee — proof that process can be intentional, not gimmicky.
We may fold Costa Rica into blends when we want articulate acidity and honeyed sweetness to support Brazil or other origins — never as anonymous filler, always with a defined function in the cup.
Role: Structure and lift with a traceable story behind it.
Costa Rica is famous for honey and natural processes, but not all of them deserve the spotlight. Our filter is simple: if the choices don’t show up as clarity, sweetness, and stability in the cup, we pass.
Every Costa Rica coffee we choose should help you talk confidently about why it tastes the way it does — with processing notes backed by real practice, not trend-chasing language.
Costa Rica’s coffees often cost more — and they should. Micromill infrastructure, selective picking, water treatment, and experimental processing all add real work and risk. Our job is to support that with buying decisions that value reliability and transparency over “cheap but pretty.”
As our Costa Rica program matures, this hub will track the specific farms and micromills behind our offerings so you can see the value chain your guests are buying into.
Costa Rica’s strength is balance. We like to brew in a way that underlines clarity and sweetness — whether it’s a washed Tarrazú or a carefully executed honey lot.
Lean into definition and sweetness.
Honey and washed Costa Ricas can shine as modern espresso.
Clean structure holds up beautifully over ice.
For full recipes, see Bert’s Coffee Brew Guide.
Last updated: November 8, 2025