Pour-Over Brewing Recommendations for Costa Rica Black Honey Catuai La Tatara Farm Specialty Coffee Beans

Pour-over Black Honey Process Coffee

15 g of coffee, medium grind (Fuji tusk-blade grinder, setting 4), V60 dripper, water at 88-89°C. Start with a 30 g pour and let it bloom for 27 seconds, then pour up to 105 g and wait until the water level drops halfway before continuing. Pour slowly until the total reaches 225 g. Discard the final tail. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, total extraction time 2:00.

Costa Rica's Famous Growing Regions

The three best-known growing regions are Tarrazú, south of the capital San Jose, together with the Central Valley and the Western Valley. Across all of them, many excellent independent estates are working hard to refine their washed and honey-processed beans. We can look forward to plenty more honey-processed surprises from Costa Rica.

Common Honey Processing Methods

Three honey processing methods are seen most often: Yellow Honey, Red Honey and Black Honey.

Yellow Honey

Roughly 40% of the mucilage is removed. Drying needs the most direct heat, so the beans take in maximum sunlight and reach a stable moisture content in about 8 days.

Red Honey

Roughly 25% of the mucilage is removed. Compared with Yellow Honey, drying takes longer and direct sun exposure is reduced, sometimes with shade nets, over about 12 days.

Black Honey

Nearly all of the mucilage is retained. Drying takes the longest, at least two weeks, with covers used to limit sunlight and slow the process so the sugars convert more fully.

Costa Rica's Coffee Excellence

Costa Rica earned its name among coffee lovers through honey-processed beans, and that reputation rests on its superior geography and climate as much as on the fact that every coffee variety it grows is Arabica. Its premium beans are graded "Strictly Hard Bean" (SHB), followed by Hard Bean (HB) and Semi-Hard Bean (SH), with quality decreasing in that order. Strictly Hard Bean is grown above 1,500 meters, and altitude has always stood in for quality: the higher the elevation, the better the cup. Strong altitude variation also brings abundant rainfall, which suits the trees well, while the cooler temperatures at height slow growth so the cherries take in more nutrients and develop richer flavor.

Flavor Profile

Flavor notes: preserved plum, honey, brown sugar, orange blossom, white chocolate

Texture: excellent sweetness, gentle fruit acidity, round and full-bodied, with a long finish

This batch of Black Honey processed coffee comes from Finca La Tatara in Costa Rica's famous Tarrazú region. Costa Rica came to specialty coffee relatively late, but its specialty industry has grown quickly. With the gentle fruit acidity, smooth texture and sweet premium berry flavors of honey processing, the results are genuinely striking. Black Honey retains about 80% of the mucilage, and the most obvious difference between the three styles is that Yellow, Red and Black honey become progressively sweeter. Combined with richer fruit notes, that is what has won over so many coffee lovers.

Product Information

Manufacturer: Coffee Workshop
Shelf life: 90 days
Net weight: 227 g
Packaging: Bulk coffee beans
Roast level: Roasted coffee beans
Sugar content: Sugar-free
Origin: Costa Rica
Roast degree: Medium roast

Coffee Details

Country: Costa Rica

Grade: SHB

Region: Tarrazú

Roast level: Medium roast

Processing method: Black Honey process

Variety: Catuai

Estate: Finca La Tatara

Flavor: Preserved plum, honey, brown sugar

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Honey processing is at its most rewarding with coffees that already carry a lot of fruit, and the V60 is the tool that shows it off. FrontStreet Coffee Yirgacheffe Gedingding is a great place to start: bright citrus, berry and floral notes with a green-tea sweetness, gentle enough for anyone new to pour-over.

If you want the fruit turned all the way up, FrontStreet Coffee Huakui from Ethiopia is a tropical powerhouse, with strawberry, passion fruit, jackfruit and even lychee, plus a syrupy sweetness and almost no bitterness. For a bridge between the two worlds, FrontStreet Coffee Mozart leans on raisin for its character, echoing the dried-fruit and brown-sugar sweetness of a good Black Honey.

FrontStreet Coffee Kenya Little Tomato is another excellent filter choice if you like a more structured cup: grown at 1,550-1,750 meters in the Thika region from SL28 and SL34, it goes through Kenya's traditional 72-hour double washed fermentation, then a light roast that keeps its lively cherry-tomato and dark-plum acidity intact. All of these shine with a light roast, a fast-flowing V60 and a slow, steady pour.