Costa Rica La Minita Estate Tarrazu Costa Rica: La Minita Estate, Tarrazu

This was recommended by Mary Hunt of the Everyday Cheapskate fame. When I first got into roasting my own coffee beans, I bought this variety, and it is the *only* bean I now roast. We go thru about 50 lbs a year. I can't stand to even drink any other type of coffee now. The thing I like best about the La Miniata is that it does not leave an aftertaste in your mouth like so many of the commercial brands.

I took a chance on this coffee by reading the reviews and taking your recommendations. I was blown away. I roast to a full city with a darker bean just starting to shine and, I gotta tell you, this coffee is just delicious. I sometimes think it was cut with hot chocolate, it is sweet, chocolaty, and just a superb coffee. I recommend it to anyone.

I have been buying this for many years after I first bought it from another large green coffee seller online. They were so pompous as to remove it so that they have an ever-changing menu, so I was very lucky to find it here. I want the same good cup each time and this gives it to you. I got tired of buying from SM's as so many were lushly described, but did not live up to their hype. So happy I can just buy the best here, and have been for a few years now. It is a very well-balanced cup, super clean and delicious. You could serve this to ANYONE and they would love it!

I home roasted a batch, half City, half Vienna. After seven days, the City roast had a cedar-like, slightly spicy aroma, a nutty chocolate flavor with an overall light body and pronounced acidity. The Vienna roast had an aroma of chocolate and orange citrus, more chocolate and burnt sugar in the flavor with more body and less acidity than the light roast. A 50/50 blend of the two was magic! The aroma had a chocolate/cedar/pipe tobacco thing going on, subtle fruit, big chocolate/caramel flavor with a lingering sweetness through the finish and the perfect balance of body and acidity. The Tarrazu region is really is the Costa Rican “cream of the crop”. The coffee was ground medium fine on a Cuisinart burr grinder and brewed on an Aeropress.

Received a sample pack of La Minita among a few other CBC beans as a gift along with an SR540 to begin home roasting. First time roaster, and these beans have me hooked. I ended up close to a Full City / early second crack and could not be happier with the resulting brew.

Nice smooth cup with a caramelly finish at City+. Great stuff!

This is my first roast. Got the Nuvo ceramic stovetop roaster thingy. I don't have time for that. I'll be roasting for years. I drink coffee. Not make it half my life. So I got that Whirley Pop thing and it's amazing. Anyhoo...this is a fantastic coffee for noobs. Seriously. It's easy to roast and has fantastic colors as it roasts. Went to first crack, and when you drink it, it's like crack. The caffeine level is no joke. Can't wait to make my next order.

I've ordered this bean before, and was very pleased with it. My day to day is the La Magnolia. La Manita is not quite as robust, and has an excellent flavor. I like darker roasts. I've mixed these beans as 50/50 batches of 2nd crack start, and 2nd crack end plus 2 minutes @ 415 F. This seems to capture more of the flavors than just the ones present past 2nd crack. I like to use these beans for family gatherings, and special occasions. Used an E Gift certificate to stock another 5 lbs. I will always keep these beans in my stock, right next to La Magnolia.

I finally got back around to working on finding a good roast profile for this one again. First time was good but not GREAT and I set it aside a while. City+ seems to be the sweet spot where it has near perfect balance. For a small bean it surprisingly needed an extended drying phase like a big Kenya AA. Not a wild-and-crazy-knock-your-socks-off-and-jolt-you-out-of-bed kind of coffee, more like a sip-on-it-slowly-while-reading-a-book kind of coffee because the longer it sits in the cup the sweeter it gets, and to me it is relaxing to drink. Tarrazu is one of my all time favorites but I haven't had a good cup of Tarrazu in decades until now.

Costa Rican Tarrazu has been my go-to coffee for years. Got imprinted by La Minita many moons ago. Don't know if my taste buds have improved but La Minita, as good as it is (and it is very, very good), just doesn't seem as outstanding as it was five to ten years ago. When I served it, friends became immediate converts. Still and all, this is a top ten, daily drinker. Tarrazu has a reputation for being 'just too non-descript, too straight forwardly good'. This crop is no exception. Roast easy, let it sit for two to three days and it. is. good. Not great, but very good.

I have come back to Costa Rican coffee after circling the globe (of coffees). I am blending this with Ethiopian to give it a little more acid and more chocolate flavors. Still, Costa Rican is the base coffee in the blend, and the best.

A VERY special coffee! Well balanced and great any time of day. I like it before second crack.

I first tried this coffee over a decade ago and kept waiting for the place I bought it from to carry it again. They never did. So, shame on me for waiting so long to look elsewhere. The fact that I could still remember the name of it after 10+ years tells you I was impressed. This coffee is of a refined pedigree and is superior to many reknown coffees costing three to five times as much. Smooth with an aftertaste that satisfies and a smooth mellow focused buzz that is non-jittery.

Just now brewed cup of this Costa Rican Very pleasant full bodied. I think I need to buy more of this....Dave

Truly delicious coffee. I take it into a few seconds into second crack somewhere just shy of 10 minutes into the roast using a dedicated profile of drying, yellowing and roasting. This bean roasts perfectly. I recently read information on the estates website at https://www.laminita.com/farms-mills/hacienda-la-minita. Neighbors love it too. :)

This by far one of my go to coffees and The beans from Coffee Bean Corral are of extremely high quality. I roast this to just a bit past first crack and let it rest for a couple days. The flavors are extraordinary. I’m very impressed so I ordered more !!!

This coffee is well balanced with a citrusy and smooth flavor in a med+ roast. The sweet chocolate finish is very enjoyable. You can't go wrong roasting these beans. The aroma in the bag calls you but wait 3 or 4 days to degas. Great beans even to 2nd crack.

This is a wonderful coffee. I usually wait a day after roasting before grinding and brewing to get the full impact of the beans. This is a very rich and complex coffee, with a great finish. Much better than the "Magnolia" in the La Minita family.

Roasted to second crack, this coffee is delicious. They sell Costa Rican La Minita at my local coffee shop for $20, I loved that too, but freshly roasted is far better!

Gonna be another favorite

So hard to find Costa Rica at all these days. Much less these...these beans are gorgeous. Hardly any chaff. Roasting into 1st crack (using swissmar/alpenrost @ 3 or 4 depending) these made for yummy yummy espresso shots.

I am a new roaster. I have liked these beans from others and wanted to try myself. Roasted to just after the start of second crack. What a beautiful cup of coffee these made this morning!

Magical bordering on transcendency. Costa Rica for the palate but La Minta for the heart. Coffee is for the mind, freshly roasted for love and knowing. Destination worlds unknown, embarking daily with this powerful cup.

As billed in a medium roast!! Roasted this for Christmas presents and can’t wait to hear the reviews! I will be ordering this one again!

Absolutely outstanding coffee once you get your roasting dialed in.

I ordered this one in the past and it was amazing. This time around it did not let down. Lighting strikes again!

I bought based on the very positive reviews posted and it did not disappoint. I like my coffee beans dark roasted and the dark roasted La Minita bean is absolutely superb. I will say that I didn't like the taste when I roasted to a lighter brown color.

Great coffee. One of my all time favorites.

Very balanced and smooth. Could drink this at any time of the day. I definitely can taste the lemon hint that others refer to. Tastes very well when prepared with an authentic Costa Rican chorreador, although I'm sure that any pour-over method would extract the flavors nicely as well

I liked this coffee best at Full City roast. (a little acidic at full City + but still great) Delicious cup of coffee. Will purchase again.

Huge difference from 99.9 % of other coffees! I can finally taste the complexity, notes, sweetness, and chocolate described by the finest coffees. Absolutely only of the very best beans available. I will be stocking up!

3rd time purchasing. This time a 5lb bag. Solid coffee. Roasting on the stove in a popcorn popper in 1lb batches and it roasts uniformly. Using it for both drip and espresso. Fantastic crema and flavor. All around it is my favorite coffee. I always go back to it. Drink it everyday and may purchase a 50lb bag one day!!

I really enjoy this CR LaManita. I was surprised at the chocolatey tones, other beans stated the chocolate flavoring but didn't deliver like this one does. We just upgraded to a behmor 1600+ so I'm excited to see what we can do with this bean in that new machine. Please keep carrying it and we will definitely keep buying. Currently my favorite. Thank you

It roasts up beautifully and not a lot of chaff to dispose of..... pleasant sweet aftertaste. Highly recommend this 👍🏽

We roast this into SC to about 440F . It's actually milder in acidity compared to some other Costa Rican coffees from the Tarrazú region. What it has is a refined sweetness in the cup, balance. It's a very mild coffee. The aromatics are sweet and clean. It's a refined, clean cup. The acidity and sweetness are perfectly in balance with just a touch of dark chocolate. The grading is immaculate.

Good well balanced, smooth cup of coffee. Roasted city +.

Very easy to roast. I do a medium roast (first hint of second crack) and the result is a complex blend of earthy flavors with hints of chocolate. One of the smoothest coffees I've ever had.

Rich and bold nice morning coffee

Our favorite coffee. Rich smooth flavor.

This is my favorite go-to coffe. Smooth and very mellow

This is a very good choice for a pleasant tasting coffee. I enjoy this treat every morning as I get ready for the day. It will become one of your most enjoyable morning rituals as the flavor is very rewarding and sets a positive tone for the rest of your day. This is my favorite coffee!

I love this coffee it is easy to roast and always brews smooth. My coworkers love it and look forward to me brining in a fresh pot.

Great coffee sweet acidity and chocolate notes in a light roast.

I prefer East African coffee, especially Yergacheffe. But this particular Tarrazu is simply amazing. It is not merely good... It is special!

I use to own a specialty coffee roaster back in the 80'. I was one of the first roasters to roast La Minita coffee. It's been awhile since I last saw this coffee. So when I had a chance to have it again I jumped on it. It's one of my all time favorites. Will be back for more.

Only roasted twice so 5 stars wouldn’t be fair, will update later.

My wife and I like this coffee mixed 50/50 with Brazilian and roasted to second crack. This gave us the subtle flavors of the Costa Rican with a little of the punch of the Brazilian. The first time I roasted the CR I did not roast it long enough and was disappointed. 2nd crack is just about perfect.

Home Coffee Roasting can be so rewarding, and fun, even moreso for those who enjoy experimenting. So many choices, so many variables; it makes my heart glad when someone discovers their "perfect" coffee...or blend.
Onobeano

Not a fan. Just doesn't have the body and smoothness that I like. Apparently, I need to take it a bit past 2nd crack. No rush to experiment.

I haven’t roasted these beans yet, but I’m most excited about them. I’ve read such high praise about them and am looking forward to roasting, cupping, and drinking it once I get a better handle on operating my Fresh Roast SR800 and Razzo chamber.