7 Best Costa Rican Coffee Brands You Need To Try
I remember the first time I saw a coffee farm. While visiting family in Costa Rica, my cousin stopped his car on the side of the road and walked over to some bushes with round red berries. He peeled the red skin off of a berry and I saw greenish-white flesh shaped like a coffee bean. My cousin explained this is how Costa Rican coffee beans start out. Farmers grow them, harvest them, dry them out, and process them to sell to countries all over the world! Keep reading to find out some of the best Costa Rican coffee brands you need to try!
(There may be affiliate links in this post. Read my disclosure policy to learn more.)
Costa Ricans and Coffee
Costa Ricans take coffee drinking very seriously.
My family in Costa Rica LOVES their coffee. If you’re ever in the country, you’ll hear people talking about coffee all the time. Literally! Many people crave it at any time of the day.
In fact, when you want to invite a friend or family member over in Costa Rica, you invite them over for “cafecito”, which is a diminutive form of the word coffee.
(Café is Spanish for the English word coffee).
You’ll just set your coffee pot in the center of the table with coffee cups, some bread, tortillas, cookies, or crackers for people to munch on while they sip their coffee.
Also, you won’t just see adults drinking coffee. You’ll sometimes see kids drinking it, too (although it’s more of an adult drink).
List of the Best Costa Rican Coffee
Here is a list of some of the more popular Costa Rican coffee brands, which will be elaborated on further in the article:
- Café Britt
- Café Rey
- Volcanica Coffee
- Café 1820
- Cooper’s Cask – Cabernet Sauvignon Wine Barrel Aged
- Freshly Roasted Coffee, LLC – Costa Rican Tarrazu
- Coffee Bean Direct
- Cafeto Coffee Company (Not Costa Rican, but owned by a Costa Rican)
Related Coffee Articles
1. Café Britt
This is one of the most popular gourmet Costa Rican coffees I’ve seen in Costa Rica. You can literally find it ALL OVER the airport.
Besides the airport, you’ll find Café Britt in many souvenir shops, hotels, restaurants, and local coffee shops.
There’s a great reason so many people love this gourmet Costa Rican coffee… it tastes great!
Cafe Britt uses only the highest quality coffee beans with the best roasters around.
In fact, the picking, roasting, and packing processes are all done in Costa Rica.
Also, Cafe Britt produces PLENTY of chocolate-covered coffee bean candies… which I LOVE! Some of these coffee beans are paired with DELICIOUS tropical flavors making them SO DELICIOUS!
So, if you’re ever in Costa Rica, you can totally check out the Cafe Britt stores or even their Cafe Britt cafes!
Interested in learning more?
Please, check out this great YouTube video by Jacqui Saldaña to see her experience touring Cafe Britt:
2. Café Rey
This is the brand that many of my Costa Rican family members enjoy drinking.
In fact, MANY local Costa Ricans drink this coffee brand!
You can easily find this authentic Costa Rican coffee at just about any grocery store in Costa Rica.
Curious about what the locals say about this coffee? Well, many people say Café Rey is “tasty and smooth” and it has a “fabulous smell”.
Check out their website to learn more!
3. Volcanica Coffee
So, Volcanica Coffee is not particularly Costa Rican, but the founders are Costa Rican and they do produce Costa Rican coffee as well as coffee from other countries around the world.
More specifically, they are a specialty coffee roasting company that produces quality single-origin coffee from volcanic regions of various countries around the globe.
Costa Rican coffee, in particular, is one of their best-selling coffee and they have several varieties such as Peaberry coffee, Tarrazu decaf coffee, and Geisha coffee (naturally processed) to name a few.
If you’re here in the United States, you’ll be happy to know that there are MANY local grocery stores that carry Volcanica coffee since it is currently headquartered in Suwanee, Georgia.
However, if you are having difficulty finding Costa Rican Volcanica coffee, you can definitely purchase it through Amazon.
(FYI, the Tarrazu Original and Peaberry are some of the most favored flavors).
4. Café 1820
So, this is another one of the best Costa Rican coffee brands around.
The name comes from the year they first exported their “golden coffee bean” from Costa Rica to Panama.
What makes Café 1820 different from other coffee brands in Costa Rica is that they use what they call Café Oro, which translates to “golden coffee”.
Their Café Oro is basically a mix of coffee beans from seven different areas in Costa Rica where coffee is produced.
The coffee is grown in high-altitude areas that have volcanic soil.
(If you don’t already know, volcanic soil is very nutrient dense ;-))
Also, in case you’re interested, here are the products that they sell that are listed on their website. (Yes, they’re all Costa Rican coffee products):
- Classic Ground
- Special Reserve
- Light Roast
- Classic Whole Bean
- Black Coffee
- Cappuccino
- Coffee with milk (Café con Leche)
- Mokaccino
Cafe 1820 Recipes
Don’t forget to check out their recipe page using one of the best Costa Rican coffees around!
You’ll find recipes for flan, hot chocolate bombs, cupcakes, and more. And, yes, Cafe 1820 is a key component in each one of these recipes!
Also, their YouTube channel has a FEW recipes you might want to check out.
For example, check out their recipe below for creamy popsicles made of coffee with milk (AKA Paletas cremosas de café con leche).
You’ll need the following ingredients for this recipe:
- Café 1820 Clásico Molido (Classic ground)
- Café con leche (coffee with milk)
- Grated coconut
- Crema dulce (sweet cream … this, unfortunately, you might have a hard time finding if you’re not in Costa Rica … however, whipped cream is a good substitute)
- Caramel syrup
- Popsicle molds
Without further ado here is the Costa Rican coffee recipe below by Café 1820:
5. Cooper’s Cask Cabernet Sauvignon Wine Barrel Aged
Ok, so although not all of the coffee from Cooper’s Cask Coffee is from Costa Rica, they do produce a SUPER UNIQUE coffee flavor using coffee beans from Costa Rica.
What makes Cooper’s Cask coffees unique is that they use old wine, whisky, or rum barrels to create a special flavor that is unlike any other.
More specifically, they age unroasted coffee beans in these barrels to bring out the natural bean flavor and add a unique natural flavor, too, that’s unlike any other coffee bean you’ve tasted.
It really is something interesting!
Anyway, the Cabernet Sauvignon wine barrel-aged coffee uses coffee beans from Costa Rica and they use a honeyed process to give the coffee a sweet flavor.
The roasting process then creates a chocolatey-fruity flavor that many people find quite delicious!
It’s SUCH an interesting concept, RIGHT?
Also, if you’re interested in learning about the barrel-aging process, you can do so by clicking here.
6. Freshly Roasted Coffee, LLC – Costa Rican Tarrazu
So, freshly roasted coffee is another one of the best Costa Rican coffees around.
Similar to the brand above, however, Freshly Roasted Coffee is NOT a Costa Rican coffee brand, but they do use coffee beans from Costa Rica to make some of their specialty coffees.
Freshly Roasted Coffee was founded in 2009 with the goal of producing freshly-roasted gourmet coffee from all over the world.
They roast their coffees fresh to order and immediately package them and use the nitrogen flush process to remove oxygen from the packaging.
Also, Freshly Roasted Coffee was named Inc. 500’s fastest-growing private business in the country for the years 2015, 2016, and 2017.
Anyway, so the Costa Rican Tarrazu…
It is considered a bright coffee with chocolate and honey undertones.
Currently, out of 485 reviews on their website, this coffee rates 4.8 out of 5 stars.
That’s saying something, right?
7. Coffee Bean Direct
Coffee Bean Direct’s Costa Rican Tarrazu flavor is one of the most highly-rated coffee types.
If you’ve never heard of Coffee Bean Direct, I can tell you that according to their website, they are a modern-day online coffee business that values modern convenience, fair pricing, and fresh quality.
Also, if you’re not interested in freshly-roasted coffee, they do sell unroasted coffee and loose-leaf teas, too.
Anyway, so the Costa Rican Tarrzu is a smooth, light-roasted coffee with sweet undertones of lemon, milk chocolate, and honey.
Currently, you have the option of buying a 1 lb bag, a 2.5 lb bag, or a 5 lb bag.
Also, you can purchase this as Whole Bean, French Press, Percolator, Auto Drip, Espresso, or Turkish.
(Some people recommend buying the whole bean option and then grinding the beans yourself in a French press you have at home).
Also, one of the great things about this company is you can purchase a subscription if you’re into that kind of thing 😉
Cafeto Coffee Company
Now, if you like supporting small businesses, I have Costa Rican family in Eugene, Oregon who own a custom-roasting coffee company called “Cafeto Coffee Company”.
They’ve been in business since 1984 and their coffee is SPECTACULAR. Although I’m not currently seeing any Costa Rican coffee in their inventory, their coffee is loved by so many people in the local coffee community.
I actually have very fond memories of my dad driving their truck around to these different local businesses, back in the 90s. Some of these businesses are still partnered with Cafeto Coffee even today!
Anyway, the coffee is certified organic by Oregon Tilth, which is a leading company that certifies, educates, and advocates for organic agriculture and products.
In addition, Cafeto Coffee values sustainably grown coffee that respects the environment and the earth. They also take special care to partner with producers who share the same values.
If you’re interested in learning more about my family’s company, you can visit their About Us page where you’ll see a picture of my Costa Rican family and two of my aunts whom I love OH SO dearly 🙂
Also, please check out their main page to see what they have to offer.
What To Eat With The Best Costa Rican Coffee Brands
Ok, so now that you’ve gained more information on some of the best coffee in Costa Rica, you’re probably asking what to eat with this Central American coffee.
Here are some ideas that you may enjoy eating with your Costa Rican coffee:
- Bread (don’t forget to spread with butter or jam)
- Tortillas (add cheese… yum!)
- Crackers
- Cookies
- Chocolate (the ones that Café Britt sells are pretty delicious)
Best Costa Rican Coffee FAQs
Now, here are some answers to frequently asked questions about some of the best Costa Rican coffee beans around.
What brand of coffee do Costa Ricans drink?
Many Costa Ricans, my family included, enjoy drinking some of the best Costa Rican coffee brands below:
- Café Rey
- Café Britt
- Café 1820
What makes Costa Rican coffee so good?
Costa Rican coffee is high-quality. The reason for this is that for the longest time, it was actually illegal for Costa Rica to produce anything other than 100% Arabica coffee.
According to Reuters, Costa Rica has only recently lifted its ban on producing robusta coffee beans, which are primarily used for making instant coffee, adding to blended coffee, or used to create froth in espressos.
Anyway, so arabica coffee beans, if you’re not already aware, are some of the highest quality coffee beans around!
These kinds of beans are harder to grow, but they produce a very rich flavor that is distinctive of Costa Rican coffee.
Also, the tropical climate, high altitudes, and fertile volcanic soils make Costa Rica one of the best locations for producing some of the best coffee in the world.
Does Starbucks use Costa Rican coffee?
Yes, some of the coffee Starbucks produces is from Costa Rica. In fact, Starbucks has its own coffee farm in Costa Rica which they open to the public.
More specifically, they have a 600-acre coffee farm near the Poas volcano in the province of Alajuela, which is in the central part of Costa Rica, about an hour and a half drive away from the capital city of San José.
Final Thoughts on Best Costa Rican Coffee
And there you have it! What are your thoughts on some of the best coffee brand names from Costa Rica? Do any of these popular Costa Rican coffee beans seem especially interesting to you? Have you tried any of them before? Do you have a favorite? Please let me know in the comments below! I’d love to hear from you.
Recommended Products
- Cafe Britt Real Costa Rican Coffee (Gourmet)
- Cafe Britt Chocolate-Covered Coffee Beans
- Cafe Britt Chocolate-Covered Coffee Beans with Tropical Flavors
- Authentic Café Rey Costa Rican Coffee
- Volcanica Peaberry Coffee from Costa Rica
- Volcanica Tarrazu Original Coffee from Costa Rica
- Café 1820 Clásico Coffee from Costa Rica
