About Costa Rican Coffee Production
Costa Rica coffee is a culture with a tradition built by centuries of painstaking dedication to detail from the selection of seeds to form and accompany serving at the table. Ticos and their way of understanding life is in almost every facet of the collective imagination. It was for almost two centuries the main source of family income and national currencies in the country. It is now recognized as a global standard of quality gourmet coffee.
The 100% of the coffee is of the Arabica species and the Catuaí Caturra variety, which produces a higher quality grain and cup with better organoleptic characteristics: pleasant, aromatic and fine. Since 1989 an act prohibits planting Robusta coffee, which is considered as inferior quality. In addition, it is allowed to cultivate Catimores, which has a high productivity, to preserve cup quality.
In Costa Rica coffee is grown in fertile volcanic soils and low acidity, ideal conditions for production. More than 80% of the coffee area is located between 800 and 1,600 meters and temperatures between 17 ° and 28 ° C, with an annual rainfall between 2000-3000 mm.
Today, Costa Rican coffee growers orientate towards perfect environmental, labor, social and economic sustainability in all processes. Given the growing national and international demand and high prices obtained for organic coffee gourmet quality, the amount grows every day under this modality.
In most of Costa Rican coffee plantations working is interspersed with shadow. This has several positive effects: the decomposition of abundant leaves returns organic matter to the soil; in addition, high slope plantations help to prevent erosion. Coffee farms are, after natural forests, the second “forest” in importance in Costa Rica, contributing to the conservation of watersheds and the cleaning of the environment.
About Café Britt
Café Britt is the first roaster of gourmet coffee in Costa Rica, which was founded in 1985. It was practically impossible to find a valuable cup of coffee in Costa Rica before Café Britt despite the fact that the country owns some of the best coffee beans in the world. Incidentally the best coffee was exported abroad.
We recognize and use the opportunity to major changes in the Costa Rican coffee industry is maintained and roasting some of its beans. We had all the ingredients to succeed: access to quality gourmet best coffee beans in the country from plantations, the finest mills, roasters and obsession with quality and the desire to create an ecological coffee business.
The result of their efforts is noticable. Café Britt is booming, and has given access to the best Costa Rican coffee for millions of people while letting the local communities step forward and protect the precious environment.
The plantation became one of Costa Rica’s biggest tourist attractions attracting over 500,000 visitors from amateurs thorugh coffee lovers to business travelers.
The CoffeeTour opened in 1991 offering an entertaining and informative way to experience the origins of gourmet coffee from cherry to the exquisite drink savored every morning. Café Britt delights in sharing the secrets of gourmet coffee in Costa Rica and the deepest traditions with visitors from around the world.
Planting and Cafe Britt tour has become one of the biggest tourist attractions in Costa Rica, with more than 500,000 visitors from amateurs, true connoisseurs of coffee and business travelers.
Today, the company has about 900 employees. Many of the 77 coffee shops and gifts that currently owns are located at international airports, including the
- Juan Santamaria International Airport located in Costa Rica,
- Jorge Chavez International Airport located in Peru,
- at the Arturo Merino Benitez International Airport located in Chile,
- at Benito Juarez International Airport located in Mexico,
- at the Hato International Airport located in the Caribbean and Curacao,
- in the VC Bird International Airport located in Antigua and Barbuda,
- in Miami International Airport in the United States and
- Ecuador at the Airport Jose Joaquin de Olmedo of Guayaquil.
Café Britt dabbled in the business of souvenirs to include in each of its stores a space dedicated to souvenirs like cups and plates, among others. Today each country has its own product line. Its main operations as coffee roaster and producer of chocolates are as headquarters to Costa Rica, Mexico and Peru. The fundamental value of the company as a producer country and its strong local identity, remain the principles that have allowed it to continue their exports of gourmet products and souvenirs as well.