Tarrazú (Los Santos)

Tarrazú is Costa Rica’s most famous coffee name. In the Zona de Los Santos, the mountains south-east of San José, the cantons of Tarrazú, Dota and León Cortés grow coffee high enough that most of it is Strictly Hard Bean, and they have more coffee land than any other region. Since 2019 the name has been a protected denomination of origin, and its farms win most of the country’s Cup of Excellence prizes.

The short version

• Tarrazú, Dota and León Cortés: the three cantons of Los Santos.
• 1,200–1,650 metres for most of its coffee.
• Very high acidity, good body and aroma.
• 28,519 hectares, about a third of Costa Rica’s coffee land.
• A denomination of origin since 2019.
• Most of the 2026 Cup of Excellence winners, including all three category winners.

What does Tarrazú coffee taste like?

Bright and full. The Costa Rican government describes a high-grown coffee with late ripening, which gives it a very high acidity and very good body and aroma. Royal New York, an importer, says the high altitude of Strictly Hard Bean coffee brings more acidity and sweetness. Competition results show the range: in the 2026 Cup of Excellence, a washed Java from Río Blanco won the washed category with 91.36, honey-processed Geisha from Las Nubes the honey and natural category with 91.06, and an experimental Geisha from Las Margaritas Veintiséis the experimental category, also with 91.06.

Altitude and the denomination

About 85% of the coffee land in Los Santos is Strictly Hard Bean, grown at 1,200–1,650 metres, the government says; La República adds that the beans are hard, with a closed fissure. The denomination of origin Café Tarrazú, handed over by President Carlos Alvarado in San Marcos de Tarrazú in February 2019, protects coffee from the three cantons and is run by a regulatory council. In 2021 the World Intellectual Property Organization registered the name and emblem for protection in about 180 countries, and a building with four laboratories for research and training was built for the denomination. Coffee milling in the zone dates back to 1903, La República reports.

How much coffee does it grow?

Measure	Figure	Source
Area, 2018	27,944 ha	ICAFE
Area, 2022	28,519 ha (+2.1%)	ICAFE
Share of national coffee area, 2022	About 35% (by our calculation)	ICAFE
Tarrazú canton, share of the crop, 2024/25	15.9%, first for the eighth year	ICAFE
Tarrazú region, share of the crop	40%	Royal New York

Source: ICAFE, via USDA; Royal New York.

Los Santos was the only region whose coffee area grew between the 2018 and 2022 surveys; nationally the area fell by 11.9%. Royal New York’s 40% share counts the wider Tarrazú region and is not an ICAFE figure.

Prizes

Los Santos dominates Costa Rica’s Cup of Excellence. In 2022, Tarrazú farms took first and second place: Don Cayito, a honey-processed Geisha, scored 91.08, and El Cedro 90.06, La Nación reported. In 2026, Los Santos farms won all three categories and most of the other places, with Geisha, Java and SL28 among the varieties.

Tarrazú and other Costa Rican origins

• Coffee in Costa Rica: the whole country, its regions and its history.
• Coffee in Nicaragua: the neighbour to the north.
• Chorreador: how Costa Ricans brew at home.