1st Place Winner of Best Coffee Growing Countries In The World

Costa Rican Coffee (4.8)
Costa Rican coffee is notoriously very smooth, i.e. non-bitter. Additionally, Costa Rican Coffee is well known for its complexity, that is to say, having several well balanced flavors, like citrus, chocolate, naturally sweet, bark, earthy, etc. Lastly, at $20 per bag, its Quality to Price Ratio (QPR) is unbeatable.

Today's taste testing proved to live up to its reputation. As in every year, our choice of Costa Rican came from the Tarrazu Region. And as usual it was three dimensional, with unique flavors on the front, middle, and back. This year's (2025) choice was San Rafael. It has strong notes of red berry, then dark berry, finishing with a hint of chocolate. This is perhaps the best coffee that I've ever tasted. It's certainly the best Costa Rican that I've ever tasted.

To find our choice of San Rafael in the fall of 2024, we did, as we do each year, and that's taste test 12-24 different beans, all from the Tarrazu Region of Costa Rica. The result of that day of taste testing, we select the best bean and then purchase enough to satisfy our customers' needs for the next 12 months.

Kona Coffee (4.8)
Wow! I’ve had Kona coffee many times. Each time the experience is nearly spiritual. Without exception, every time that I've tasted Kona coffee it is super smooth, with zero bitterness. Add to that the fact that it can have all kinds of major and minor notes, ranging from citric to nut, earthy to chocolate, floral to naturally sweet.

Now here's the kicker. Those tasting notes are balanced and integrated like a $100 bottle of fine Bordeaux wine. This is definitely one of the best coffees in the world. It’s also one of the most expensive. For the real thing, expect to pay $75 - $100 a pound.

Is it better than Costa Rican. On the whole, I'd say yes. But because we at Lake City Coffee (Alisha & Russell), go to great extents to select the very best coffee bean that Costa Rica has to offer, then no. In that instance with our selection of Costa Rican, Kona isn't better than Costa Rican. But it is every bit as good, just different.

https://www.lakecitycoffee.com/best-coffee-growing-countries/