11. Coffee in Costa Rica
Historians agreed that is was governor Tomás de Acosta, who introduced the grain around 1808 and Felix Velarde was the first person to plant coffee in Costa Rica and extend its cultivation for commercial purposes.
Costa Rica was soon converted into a coffee producing country, as exports increased the country's economic situation improved. Years of research and testing have resulted in varieties of excellent quality, good bean size and high productivity. Some of the varieties that have placed Costa Rica as the country of highest productivity per area in the world are: "Tico Hybrid," "Typica or Arabic" and "Villa Sarchi."
Only in Costa Rica, all the elements of nature come together to insure coffee of the highest quality: soil with the perfect combination of nutrients, rainfall and temperature conditions. At the same time Costa Rica has developed a high standard of technology, which has made possible to adapt each variety to the peculiarities of each zone.
Other varieties of coffee are: Caturra, Mundo Novo and Catuai.