We visited 14 farms and this is what we learned about the 2025–2026 harvest in Costa Rica
Over the past few weeks, we visited 14 farms in different regions of the country. We walked through coffee plantations, tasted ripe fruit straight from the tree, and listened to stories from families who have been growing coffee for generations and others who are just beginning to process it on their own.
Every harvest is different. The weather changes, prices change, markets change. But one thing remains constant: the ability of farming families to adapt.
This is what stood out most to us about the 2025–2026 harvest.
The local market is no longer secondary
About 15 years ago, when specialty coffee shops were just beginning to appear in Costa Rica, the best of our coffee was leaving the country. Asia, Europe, and the United States were the natural destinations for the most carefully cultivated batches. Consuming export coffee here was the exception.
Today, the conversation is different.
The producers themselves tell us about the local market as a real, stable, and growing source of income. It is no longer just a supplement: it is a strategy. A buffer against exchange rates, against the volatility of the international market, against the pressure of competing with countries with lower production costs.
But beyond the financial aspect, there is something symbolic about this.
May the best coffee stay here too.
When we say that Costa Rica produces many of the best coffees in the world, we should be able to serve it at our own tables.
That courage does not always have to cross borders to be recognized.
Green samples of micro-lots in Tarrazú.
Coffee is no longer alone
Coffee yields one harvest per year. This means that many families' income is concentrated in just a few months, while the rest of the year requires planning, liquidity, and patience.
Historically, bananas were the natural companion of coffee: quick shade, supplementary income, basic balance of the system.
But the farms we visited today tell a different story.
- Granadilla climbing fences.
- Hass avocados are highly valued in the market.
- Chayote, naranjilla, tomato, apple in high altitude areas.
- Even Christmas trees ready for December.
Diversification is no longer an experiment; it is a strategy for resilience.
Farms that combine coffee with other value-added crops seem to have greater financial stability and more room for maneuver in an unpredictable market. In a fertile country like ours, the land offers more than one answer.
Boxes for fermenting cocoa in Aquiares
A country of many small towns
According to Icafé, there are 24,653 coffee-producing families in Costa Rica. For decades, most of them delivered their production to mills and cooperatives. That model was—and continues to be—fundamental to the country's development.
But something is changing. More and more families are processing and marketing their own coffee. Micro-processing has opened a new door: traceability, quality control, differentiation, and direct access to buyers.
It is not a break with the cooperative model. It is evolution and adaptation.
Today we see a more diverse ecosystem: cooperatives with a long history coexisting with family micro-benefits; traditional high-volume models complemented by highly specialized agricultural ventures.
Families that process their coffee and sell it with traceability have found new ways to capture value. They can segment qualities, diversify customers, and build more direct relationships.
There is often more risk, yes. But there is also more recognition.
Honey-processed coffee drying on concrete patios. Don Mayo micro-mill, Leon Cortes.
We returned from these 14 farms with one clear impression: Costa Rican coffee farming is not static. It is evolving.
It adapts. It diversifies. It reinvents itself.
And amid global volatility, we find something deeply local: families who continue to value the land, attention to detail, and the importance of origin.
The 2025–2026 harvest speaks to us of transformation, adaptability, and resilience.