Costa Rican Coffee History

Coffee came to Costa Rica in the last decade of the eighteenth century. Coffee growing expanded in costa Rica over the high lands of the Central Valley. The brotherhood of coffee farmers, both large and small, formed the basis that allowed Costa Rica to become the first Central American country to establish coffee as an industry.

Costa Rica first exported Coffee to Colombia. Those coffee sacks that crossed the Costa Rican borders in 1820, became the ground breaking activity which, from that moment on, changed the course of the Costa Rican's lives. By 1823, Costa Rica was already exporting quality coffee to Chile. There, it was repackaged for sale to England under the name of "Café Chileno de Valparaíso".

It in 1854, a group of local exporters undertook the complex task of exporting coffee directly to London. In this they were helped by the cooperation of William Le Lacheur Lyon, captain of the English ship "Monarch".

The growing and commercialization of Costa Rican coffee changed the face of that humble, one time colony that dozed lethargically in corner of the Empire. As a country, Costa Rica was modernized. The young Costa Rican intellectuals could now continue their post secondary studies in England and come back as doctors, engineers and entrepreneurs, contributing to the improvement of the life style of all Costa Ricans.

The economic bounty that Costa Rican coffee production and commercialization brought allowed us to build the first access to the Atlantic in 1890. Seven years later, the awed inhabitants of the capital city of San José were able to attend the memorable inauguration of the National Theater, cradle of Costa Rica culture and monument to the foresight of the first Costa Rican coffee farmers. Since then Costa Ricans have know that coffee and the activities forged around it, set the foundation of what Costa Rica is today.