Tirra Estate, Costa Rica

Tarrazu – a small area in the centre-west of Costa Rica – is one of the Central American country’s primary coffee-producing regions and is said to produce some of the very best Arabica beans.

Tarrazu is divided down into three municipalities, which are known as the three saints (or ‘Los Santos’) because of their names – Santa Maria de Dota, San Marcos de Tarrazu and San Pablo de Leon Cortes (Santa and San meaning saint in Spanish).

The rich, volcanic soils and hilly topography provide the perfect conditions for farming and harvesting crops of the utmost quality. An average temperature of just under 20 degrees C also affords ideal conditions, with the Pacific mountains providing the shelter that Arabica crops need to thrive.

Caturra and Catuai are two of the most popular varieties heralding from the region where the crops are typically planted at altitudes of between 1,200 and 1,900 metres above sea level.