Costa Rica · Coffee Growing Region
Tarrazú Coffee
The Tarrazú highlands south of San José — the 'Zona de Los Santos' after its saintly town names — hold Costa Rica's densest concentration of high-altitude coffee. Oxide-rich volcanic soils, a crisp dry harvest season, and generations of technified farming built the country's flagship origin.
The 2000s micro-mill revolution began here: families installing their own small wet mills to control quality and capture value, unleashing the honey and natural processing experiments that transformed Costa Rica's market identity. Hundreds of micro-mills now sell distinct family lots to the world.
Tarrazú at a glance
| Country | Costa Rica |
|---|---|
| Growing altitude | 1,200–1,900 m |
| Harvest season | December – March |
| Known for | Costa Rica's premier appellation and the cradle of the honey-process revolution |
| Cup profile | Orange, honey, and red fruit with fine bright acidity; honey lots add syrupy tropical sweetness. |
Varieties grown in Tarrazú
Processing in Tarrazú
Tarrazú — frequently asked questions
What is a micro-mill?
A family-owned small processing operation — pulper, demucilager, drying beds — that lets producers process and market their own lots instead of delivering to central mills. Tarrazú pioneered the model.
Why is Tarrazú suited to honey processing?
Its reliably dry, breezy harvest season allows the slow, controlled drying that mucilage-coated honey coffees demand without fermentation defects.
Volcana Coffee grows and exports specialty Arabica and Fine Robusta from our own region — the Bolaven Plateau in Laos — with SGS-inspected quality and full export documentation. Taste how our volcanic terroir compares.
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