The Story
Costa Rica has built its coffee reputation around a simple combination: high altitude, meticulous processing and an uncompromising focus on quality. Among the country's most celebrated coffee-growing regions is Tarrazú, where steep mountains, fertile soils and cool growing conditions create an environment perfectly suited to producing bright, structured coffees.
At the centre of this coffee-growing community is CoopeTarrazú, one of Costa Rica's major coffee cooperatives. Established in 1960, the cooperative was created to support coffee-producing families in the region and has grown into an organisation representing thousands of producers.
Rather than being defined by a single estate, La Pastora Tarrazú represents the collective character of the region. CoopeTarrazú describes La Pastora as its international export brand, with coffees originating from plantations spread throughout the Tarrazú growing area.
La Pastora: The Character of Tarrazú
The name La Pastora has become closely associated with the coffee produced by CoopeTarrazú. The cooperative's farms sit between approximately 1,200 and 1,800 metres above sea level, where the combination of altitude and climate encourages slow cherry development and concentrated sweetness.
Tarrazú is particularly renowned for its bright acidity, a characteristic that gives coffees from the region their distinctive energy and clarity. The area's designation of origin also recognises the unique combination of microclimate, fertile soils and traditional coffee-growing practices that contribute to its distinctive cup profile.
The coffee is produced using the Fully Washed process, allowing the character of the growing environment and the quality of the coffee cherry to come through with clarity. Caturra and Catuai—two varieties deeply established throughout Costa Rica—bring structure, sweetness and balance to the cup.
The Cup
This is a classic expression of Costa Rican Tarrazú, combining brightness with a comforting sweetness and rounded body.
The cup opens with clean citrus acidity, followed by layers of caramel and chocolate. As it cools, subtle almond and toasted nut characteristics become more apparent, adding depth and balance to the fruit-driven acidity.
The result is a coffee that feels clean, smooth and structured, with enough sweetness and body to remain approachable while retaining the lively acidity that makes Tarrazú so distinctive. The finish is long and pleasant, leaving behind impressions of citrus, caramel and chocolate.
Why It Matters
For Costa Rica, coffee is more than an agricultural commodity—it is part of the country's cultural and economic identity. But producing coffee in the country's mountainous terrain comes with significant challenges, including high labour costs, difficult farming conditions and increasing pressure on producers to maintain quality while remaining economically sustainable.
Cooperatives such as CoopeTarrazú play an important role in bringing together thousands of smallholder producers, providing access to processing infrastructure, technical support and international markets.
La Pastora represents this cooperative approach beautifully. Rather than focusing on a single farm, it captures the collective character of Tarrazú, bringing together coffees grown by producers throughout the region and processed through a system designed around consistency and quality.
This Costa Rica SHB La Pastora is a dependable expression of what makes Tarrazú famous: bright citrus acidity, caramel sweetness, chocolate depth and a clean, elegant structure—a classic Costa Rican coffee with the precision and balance expected from one of the country's most respected growing regions.
Matte Black Coffee Bag Bundle - With Valve & Rippa Zippa
