Costa Rica Tarrazu Otis Stone Yellow Honey Process Geisha Grind Roast Level Processing Method

Costa Rica Tarrazzu Honey Geisha

Country: Costa Rica

Grade: SHB

Region: Tarrazu

Roast Level: Light Roast

Processing Method: Honey Process

Honey Processing Method

After the skin and pulp are removed, the coffee beans are dried with the mucilage still on them. The key to telling different honey processes apart lies in that remaining mucilage: what proportion is kept, how long the drying takes, and how it is done.

Characteristics of Honey Processing

During harvest, sugar content is tested first, and only cherries with a sugar content between 21-22% are picked. The honey process differs from other methods in that it requires drying on African beds. If the beans are dried directly on cement ground or soil, they are easily scratched during turning, which leads to bacterial contamination; drying on bare soil also gives the beans an earthy taste.

Flavor Differences: Honey vs. Washed Processing

Compared to washed processing, honey processed coffee has higher sweetness, higher sugar content and a relatively greater body at the same roast level.

Good ventilation is essential when drying honey processed beans, otherwise the retained mucilage can easily ferment or mold and cause off-flavors.

The honey processing methods we commonly see include yellow honey, red honey and black honey.

Variety: Geisha

Processing Mill: Otis Granite Mill

Flavor Notes: Herbal tea, rosehip, green grape

Costa Rica's Unique Honey Processing

Costa Rica's honey processing method is unique. We recently obtained these Costa Rica honey processed beans and set out to understand what makes the country's honey processing so distinctive.

Introduction to Otis Granite Estate

Costa Rica's Otis Granite Mill is an emerging Costa Rican estate. The family cooperative was established in 1994, but it wasn't until 2005 that they built their own processing mill, which now has 17 years of history. Otis Granite Mill sits about 5km north of Tarrazu's San Marcos town. Below it are ten coffee estates, including Yano Estate, with elevations spread across mountain slopes from 1500-2000 meters, all classified as SHB grade.

Otis 2000m Estate Geisha - Golden Honey Process

Flavor: The dry aroma is a delicate spring tea fragrance mixed with hints of orange peel and chocolate. Herbal tea, rosehip and green grape flavors gradually emerge as the temperature changes, revealing a juicy sweetness of lemon and peach. The aftertaste is orange chocolate.

Manufacturer: Coffee Workshop
Shelf Life: 90 days
Net Weight: 100g
Packaging: Bulk coffee beans
Roast Level: Roasted coffee beans
Sugar Content: Sugar-free
Origin: Costa Rica
Roast Degree: Light roast

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If a honey-processed Geisha from Tarrazu has your attention, the best way to understand it is to taste it against FrontStreet's wider Geisha lineup, which spans the two great homes of the variety. Panama is where Geisha made its name. The Esmeralda Special, known as the Red Label, comes from the highest plots, the Green Label from its own selection, and both show the signature orange-blossom, honeyed fruit and tea-like finish that turned Geisha into the world's most sought-after cup. For an easier entry into the Panama profile, the Boquete Geisha lets you taste the classic high-altitude Panamanian Geisha character, oolong-tea aroma and delicate fruit sweetness, at a friendlier price.

Ethiopia is where Geisha was born, and its Geishas lean toward brighter fruit acidity. The Granada Estate Geisha, from the Granada processing station at the border of Kochere and Gelana Abaya, is a medium-light roast that keeps a pleasant white floral note while pushing orange, guava and citrus to the front. Higher up the range, the Geisha Village Gold Label is the Geisha 1931 variety, about 10% of the village's output and the top coffee it produces outside the auction, given an elegant natural process; the Geisha Village Red Label is the Gori Gesha variety at about 15% of production, scoring 88 or above on the SCA 100-point scale as a single-terroir series with full traceability.

Geisha is a medium-light, floral-fruity coffee with a dense, hard bean that can sink and clog the drain holes, so FrontStreet suggests a grind of about 78% passing China's standard #20 sieve, roughly fine-sugar size, and 91°C water. Brew with 15g of coffee, a small Hario V60 and a 1:16 ratio: start the timer, pour to 30g for a 30-second bloom, circle with a small stream to 125g, wait for the bed to drop halfway, then continue to 225g, for a total extraction of about 2:10-2:20.