Tarrazu Coffee Guide

ICAFE

Tarrazu Coffee Association

Costa Rica Tarrazu gourmet Coffee History

 

FARM FOR SALE BY OWNER WRITE TO JORGE AT: INFO@ALTOQUEPOS.COM Size: 50 hectares = 123 acres Price:US$ 250 000

Alto Quepos farm for sale. This beautiful large estate is situated right half way between Manuel Antonio National Park in Quepos and San Marcos de Tarrazu in the highlands. The La Managua Airport is just 1/2 hour ,45 minutes drive from this pristine property. This amazing property features the most spectacular views of the Quepos Plains and green hills of Tarrazu Quepos highlands and its surroundings. Water, telephone & electricity lines and other amenities very accessible. The property is surrounded by beautiful trees and rolling hills and is located just 45 minutes from the Costanera Highway which connects all the Costa Rican beachfront in the Pacific coast which is in fast development which makes this property an excellent investment. Neighboring properties can be included also in a posible deal which can increase acreage to 246 acres in total. This makes a perfect investment for a mountain lodge wich is at driving distance to the ocean. For More Information click here to send an email to Jorge.. More information online at the official Alto Quepos Costa Rica website

Contact Us Land checklist: ============== Location: click here for map and pics. Forest grassland area located at 3500- 4000feet above sea level average, gravel roads in good condition (4x4 cars year round ), place close to Quepos airport ( 1/2 hour - 45 minutes ) with a great feel of remoteness ( 2 hours from San Jose, 3 hours from Santamaria airport, 1 hour from Quepos beaches, 10 minutes from Napoles village, 15 minutes from Naranjillo Village, 20 minutes from Santa Juana village and Canopy Safari, 30 minutes from San Marcos de Tarrazu which has all health services, coffee tours, Local Wal-mart affiliated supermarket.) Attractions: waterfalls, Green mountains, cloud forests, monkeys other small mammals, lots of wild birds), views in detail here --> greenery at its utmost. Climate: Elevation: 3500 - 4000 feet ( 1100 meter to 1200 meters above sea level ), temperatures year round: 20 degrees Celsius = 68 degrees Fahrenheit wind conditions: smooth breeze year round., sunshine/cloudness 60 % /40%, normal rain cloud forest precipitations; REALLY HEALTHY WEATHER, NO DENGUE NOR MALARIA mosquitoes. LOW RISK of earthquakes, NO RISK FROM flooding, NO RISK OF mudslides. Utilities: power grid nearby, potable water from nearby springs, easy to build acueduct with potential pressure, phone line not available but have access to cellular signal, satellite TV, Internet availability via cell service. Surroundings: hilly terrain, excellent views of the Quepos plains and blue mountains, neighbors are coffee farmers or cattle ranchers, villages and surroundings are attracting more and more foreigners as the area is being discovered. Safety: Very private place, nearest neighbor lives 15 minutes away. Crime rate ZERO since this area in the central costa rica mountains is the safest place in Central America, NO RISK FROM squatters, NO health issues, NO FEAR FROM Dengue outbreaks or Malaria. FARMS/lots: ALL titled WITH PLANOS SINCE EARLY 1990'S , road access VIA 4X4 VEHICLES., road maintenance provided by local municipality, hilly terrain, smoth slopes combined, grasslands knolls, plantels ready for construction, the best greenery in Costa Rica, jungle wildlife, pasture for cows, coffee trees, fertile soil, 2 nearby creeks and springs and plenty of well drilling options; Building: no zoning, Although Forest cannot be cut down due to limitations because of area protection, the grasslands are ready for any development!. NO local/gated communities rules, CONSTRUCTION CAN BEGIN INMEDIATELY; NO RISK OF potential urbanization of the place by neighbors. PLENTY OF CHANCES TO SELL SMALL PARCELS TO FRIENDS/ FAMILY/CUSTOMERS. ONE SAFE ENTRANCE TO THE WHOLE PROPERTY. Construction: Plenty of workforce availability with experience and quality; $ per sq.ft. depending on your construction plans. Others: Enough space to keep horses and cows, build cabins, swimming pools etc.

Fist, we present an interesting article about Costa Rica writen in 1981 by David Reed.

Central America´s Beacon of Hope. 

In a context of revolutionary Violence, Costa Rica is a model democracy where issues are decided by ballots instead of bullets 

By David Reed (Reader´s Digest, 1981)

Around dawn each morning, the railroad station in Puerto Limón, a steaming tropical town on Costa Rica´s Caribbean Coast, suddenly springs to life. Passengers pile into wooden coaches. A whistle shrieks.  Soon the little train is climbing into the cordillera, the backbone of Central America. At 5000 feet of altitude, it tops the continental divide. Then the train descends into the central plateau and rolls into San José, the 3700 foot-high capital of a remarkable country.

Costa Rica is almost too good to be true. Unlike many other Latin American republics...Read More, click here.

History of the Tarrazu Valley Before 1950

Now, let's travel through time with this interesting timeline composed by us based on Tarrazu County City Hall old documents:

400 AD: First Indian Settlements. Small villages were built along the Tarrazú and Pirris rivers.

1563: The Conquistador Juan Vasquez de Coronado passes through the Tarrazú Valley heading toward Quepos.

1818: First White settlers, Don José Miguel Cascante among them, arrived.

1826: First land concession granted to Mr. José Miguel Cascante Rojas.

1850: First coffee trees were planted in the valley.

1867: Father Raimundo Mora gives the small village the name of San Marcos.... Read More, click here.

Tarrazú History after 1950 (In Spanish)

Mr. Wilson Picado addresses a very important part of our early coffee related history with the following paper.

Cambio tecnológico y agricultura de ladera en las tierras del suroeste de Costa Rica. 1950-1998.

Wilson Picado U.

V Congreso Centroamericano de Historia.

 julio de 2000.

 I.Esta es una ponencia sobre el cambio tecnológico en la producción agrícola. Es el resultado preliminar de un estudio mayor acerca de la transformación que experimentó la agricultura del cantón de Tarrazú, al suroeste de Costa Rica, entre 1950 y 1998. Su objetivo principal es caracterizar el modo diferenciado como los campesinos locales adoptaron las innovaciones técnicas derivadas de la Revolución Verde. En especial, es un estudio sobre la tecnificación de la producción cafetalera de Tarrazú en el período en mención. Su estructura es simple. En el primer punto se describen las características geográficas del cantón y en el segundo se revisa la evolución de esta agricultura entre 1950 y 1970. En los puntos tercero y cuarto se sintetizan los cambios ocurridos en los períodos 1970-1980 y 1980-1998. Como es la norma, en la última parte se presentan las conclusiones del artículo. Read More, click here

"Jorge Umana, the owner of coffee grower Beneficio Don Evelio,...has set up a company site, www.tarrazucafe.com. So far he's the only grower to do so.." ADAM PIORE, LAUREN WOLLKOFF Newsweek Magazine Journalists, January 29, 2001 issue.

"Tarrazu coffee growers, who produce some of the world's finest, high-elevation beans...now promote their high-quality crop on the Internet at www.tarrazucafe.com" CHRISTINE PRATT, The Tico Times,Aug 18th, 2000

Interview to one of our Costa Rica coffee farmers at Specialty Coffee Retailer Magazine