Costa Rican Coffee Country
The heart of Costa Rica's famous coffee - the lush green highlands of the Central Valley, where visitors tour plantations to see the celebrated beans grown, harvested and roasted, from bush to cup.
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Coffee shaped modern Costa Rica, and the lush, volcanic highlands of the Central Valley around San Jose remain the heart of its famous, high-quality coffee production. Visitors can tour the plantations and traditional beneficios, or mills, in regions like Poas, Naranjo and the Orosi Valley, to see the celebrated Arabica beans grown on the green hillsides, hand-picked in the harvest, and processed and roasted, and to taste the excellent local brew at its source.
What you actually see
- A plantation tour - the journey from bush to cup on a coffee farm.
- The green highlands - the coffee-covered volcanic hillsides.
- The harvest - the hand-picking of the red coffee cherries in season.
- The coffee tasting - sampling the celebrated local coffee.
When to go
The coffee harvest runs roughly November to March, the best time to see the picking; the dry season, December to April, is also the best weather for touring the highlands. Plantation tours run year-round.
Honest expectations
The tours range from small, authentic family farms to large, polished operations geared to tour buses, so choose to match what you want. It is easily done as a half-day trip from San Jose, often combined with the nearby Poas Volcano. It is more an educational and scenic experience than a dramatic sight, but a pleasant and tasty one.
Nearby
The Poas Volcano, the La Paz waterfall gardens and San Jose are close.
What to pack for Costa Rican Coffee Country
Chosen from what this place is for. Tap a kit for the full checklist.
Opening times, ticket prices and seasonal closures change - check the official source before you go: official site.
