Costa Rica

Costa Rica is globally recognized for its high-quality arabica coffee. Coffee is cultivated in eight designated growing regions, each with unique microclimates and flavor profiles. The sector is organized, with ICAFE (Instituto del Café de Costa Rica) overseeing research, quality control, and farmer support. While coffee once dominated agricultural exports, it now accounts for a smaller share, reflecting growth in other sectors. The government also estimates that the number of coffee producers today (~25,000) is half what it was 10 years ago.1 Nonetheless, Costa Rica remains a leader in coffee agriculture innovation, from micro-mill processing to environmental sustainability programs and climate emissions reductions.

1. USDA Coffee Annual: Costa Rica, 2025


Global export rank
International Coffee Organization, 2017-2019 mean
Coffee produced by smallholders
85%
Enveritas Global Farmer Study, 2018
Our Strategy

Costa Rica has a long tradition of coffee research and strong institutional stability, making it a longtime strategic partner for WCR. Since 2015, WCR has collaborated with Costa Rican institutions, including ICAFE and CATIE across multiple programs to strengthen agricultural R&D. In 2023, ICAFE joined the Innovea Global Coffee Breeding Network to drive long-term innovation in variety development. WCR has also partnered with CATIE on multiple projects over the last decade, including the development of a strategy to protect global coffee genetic resources; the development of breeding tools to improve the efficiency and accuracy of coffee breeding; and propagation of new arabica material. Private-sector partners are also conducting field trials of new WCR F1 hybrid varieties in Costa Rica to evaluate their performance under local conditions, supporting faster farmer access to high-performing, genetically verified trees.


Current Activity

Breeding Trials
All Programs

Programs in Costa Rica

Breeding
Innovea Global Arabica Breeding Network
Transforming coffee agriculture for climate-resilience through collaborative global breeding
Trials
F1 Hybrid Trials
A new class of coffee varieties for climate change
Breeding
Breeding tools
Global tools to enable breeding modernization

Our Partners

Working collaboratively to ensure the future of coffee

Instituto del Café de Costa Rica (ICAFE)

The Instituto del Café de Costa Rica (ICAFE), founded in 1933, regulates all coffee activities and is a source of innovation, investigation, and technological development in commitment with the environment in all the coffee sectors of Costa Rica.

More Info

CATIE

The Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE) is a regional center dedicated to research and graduate education in agriculture, and the management, conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. CATIE holds one of the world's most important collections of Coffea germplasm, with over 1,900 accessions of 11 species from Ethiopia, Yemen, Kenya, Tanzania, Colombia, Brazil, and Mexico.

More Info

Aquiares + Counter Culture

One of Costa Rica’s largest and oldest coffee estates; produces shade‑grown Arabica and sustains a community of over 1,800 on Turrialba Volcano slopes. The company is implementing variety trials with the support of WCR member company Counter Culture.

More Info

Starbucks Hacienda Alsacia

A research farm owned by Starbucks, where climate‑resilient, disease‑resistant varieties and sustainable practices are developed in support of Starbucks' global farmer training programs.

More Info

More Countries

Asia

Vietnam
Africa

Ghana
North America

United States

News and Updates

2025.07.07 • WCR News

Breeding coffee for quality: an interview with Dr. Verônica Belchior

Understanding coffee quality and how it fits into breeding the varieties of the future with WCR's Research Scientist for Quality Evaluation
2025.05.09 • Press

Mind the gap

As extreme weather events threaten global coffee supplies, the industry is banding together to fund the next generation of climate-proof coffee varieties amid a colossal funding gap
2025.04.17 • Program Updates

Innovea breeding trials come to life around the world

New genetics have installed in the field in seven countries
2024.11.25 • WCR News

Second annual member day fosters a deeper connection to global variety development research

Member company representatives from across the world gather in Costa Rica to engage first-hand with WCR’s work
2024.07.19 • Program Updates

World Coffee Research’s F1 hybrids transition to pre-commercial trials

Industry partners selected, evaluation to begin in 2024
2024.04.04 • Program Updates

First seedlings from the Innovea network transplanted for field evaluation

Global, collaborative breeding network’s performance evaluation phase begins
2024.01.31 • Program Updates

Forging the future of coffee—together

An update on how the Innovea Global Breeding Network is driving change through strategic, global collaboration
2023.11.13 • WCR News

Inaugural WCR member day offers roasters, retailers, and suppliers the opportunity to experience research first-hand

Member company representatives from around the world gather in Costa Rica to connect with WCR’s work
2023.08.30 • Program Updates

First seeds from the Innovea Global Coffee Breeding Network now germinating around the world

Milestone marks the initiation of the first global, collaborative breeding program in over 50 years
2023.08.15 • Program Updates

World Coffee Research releases open-access Coffea arabica genetic fingerprinting database

Tool dramatically reduces cost of coffee variety identification and genetic traceability
2023.04.17 • WCR News

World Coffee Research and collaborators awarded new USDA AFRI grant to modernize coffee breeding

Collaborative project will explore technologies and methodologies to make phenotyping—and thus breeding—faster, more efficient, and cost-effective
2023.03.28 • Press

USDA-ARS Joins WCR Global Coffee Breeding Network, Adds Access to New Germplasm

USDA's Agricultural Research Service has joined Innovea Global Coffee Breeding Network coordinated by World Coffee Research (WCR), which will offer the Agency broader opportunities to develop more climate resilient coffee varieties with resistance to pests and diseases.
2022.09.14 • Program Updates

Final Four: WCR F1 hybrids complete phase 1 trials

Four high-performing candidates have been identified after 7 years of evaluation
2021.06.11 • Program Updates

Update from the East Africa Breeding Hub

Supporting the next generation of coffee varieties for East Africa.
2020.10.20 • Program Updates

Tasting a new variety for the very first time

WCR kicks off a program to involve industry cuppers in in tasting varieties from trials around the world
2020.01.15 • Program Updates

When it comes to coffee leaf rust, is shade good or bad for coffee?

The answer comes from a deep dive into the microscopic world
2019.12.11 • Program Updates

Hybrid harvest

A breeding trial celebrates a milestone: the first harvest
2019.09.10 • Program Updates

F1 Hybrids Explainer

Redefining what’s possible for coffee producers.
2019.08.13 • Program Updates

World Coffee Research breeds coffee for the future

A new article in Global Coffee Report highlights the work so far.
2018.10.09 • Program Updates

A new Arabusta for the 21st century

Arabica varieties that contain Robusta genetics could help the coffee industry navigate modern challenges to production.
2018.07.30 • Program Updates

Speeding up genetic progress

How molecular breeding approaches are bringing progress to farmers faster.
2018.07.02 • Program Updates

A new African coffee breeding hub in Rwanda

Created in partnership with the Rwanda Agriculture Board, the WCR African breeding hub will provide breeding material for the creation of local varieties, foster adaptation of other regions’ improved varieties, and much more.
2018.06.21 • Program Updates

Coping with 32°

A new target for climate-smart breeding
2018.06.21 • Program Updates

Two new groups of F1 hybrid crosses in 2017/2018!

WCR celebrates the creation of five "three-way" hybrid crosses
2017.07.14 • Program Updates

Experimental F1 hybrids in the field

46 new varieties now in testing
2016.02.02 • Program Updates

Breeding program milestones for 2015

The WCR Core Collection, regional breeding centers in Africa + Colombia, new F1 hybrids in Central America, molecular breeding, and drought tolerance.