Costa Rica Tarrazú Otis Rock Yellow Honey Geisha Varieties, Brand Recommendations and Estates

Introduction to Geisha Coffee

When it comes to Geisha coffee beans, many people are captivated by their wonderful floral aroma and rich fruit sweetness. In 2015, Panama Geisha caused another sensation, leading many to mistakenly believe that Geisha is a coffee variety exclusive to Panama. That is not the case. The Geisha variety was first discovered in Ethiopia in 1931 and, through a series of transplantings and cultivations, later found its place in other countries and regions.

Compared with Panama Geisha, Costa Rican Geisha offers a bit more richness. If Panama Geisha is a fresh, light style, then Costa Rican Geisha belongs to a more reserved one.

Costa Rica's Coffee Growing Regions

Costa Rica lies on the Central American isthmus at 10°N latitude and 84°W longitude. It borders the Caribbean Sea to the east and the North Pacific Ocean to the west. Costa Rica sits on the low-latitude volcanic belt of Central America, with the Central Plateau and mountainous regions ranging from 800 to 2,000 meters in elevation, making it well suited to coffee cultivation.

Costa Rican coffee has always been famous for an extremely balanced, clean and bright profile, with fruit-like berry acidity. Exceptional Costa Rican coffee shows spice and cocoa notes in the aftertaste. The country's most famous growing region is Tarrazu, near the capital, San José. Tarrazu has the highest average altitude plus excellent climate and soil conditions, making it Costa Rica's most famous and generally recognized finest coffee-producing region. Tres Rios is a renowned sub-region within the Tarrazu area. The most famous Costa Rican single-estate coffee in the specialty coffee world is La Minita estate in the Tarrazu region, with an annual production of only 160,000 pounds.

Brewing Method

Hand-poured yellow honey process. 15g of coffee, medium-fine grind (using Fuji's 3.5 setting), V60 dripper, water temperature 91-93°C. First pour 30g of water for a 27-second pre-infusion, then pour to 105g and pause. Wait until the water level drops to halfway, then continue pouring slowly until reaching 225g total. Avoid the tail. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, extraction time 2:00.

Coffee Details

Costa Rica Tarrazu Honey Geisha

• Country: Costa Rica
• Grade: SHB
• Region: Tarrazu
• Roast Level: Light roast
• Processing Method: Honey process

Honey Process Details

The honey process dries the beans with the mucilage (pectin) still attached, after the fruit skin and pulp have been removed. The key difference between honey processes lies in that remaining mucilage: how much is kept, how long the drying takes, and how it is carried out.

Characteristics of the honey process:

At harvest, sugar content is tested first, and only cherries with 21-22% sugar content are picked. Unlike other methods, the honey process requires drying on African beds. Dried directly on cement or soil, the beans are easily scratched during turning, leading to bacterial contamination; sun-drying directly on soil can also impart earthy flavors to the beans.

Taste differences between honey and washed processing:

Compared with washed processing, the honey process produces higher sweetness, greater sugar content and relatively more body at the same roast level.

Honey-processed beans need good ventilation during drying; otherwise the retained mucilage can easily ferment or mold and produce unpleasant odors.

Common honey process methods we typically see include yellow honey, red honey and black honey.

• Variety: Geisha
• Processing Plant: Otis Granite Processing Plant
• Flavor Notes: Floral tea, rose hip, green grape flavors

Costa Rica's honey processing (called "miel" locally) is unique. These Costa Rican honey-processed beans only recently arrived, prompting a closer look at the country's distinct methods.

Otis Granite Estate Introduction

Costa Rica's Otis Granite processing plant is an emerging estate. The family cooperative was established in 1994, but it was not until 2005 that they built their own processing plant, which now has 17 years of history. The Otis Granite plant is located about 5km north of San Marcos town in Tarrazu, overseeing ten coffee estates including Yano Estate, with elevations distributed across 1,500-2,000 meter slopes, all classified as SHB highest grade.

Otis 2000-Meter Estate Geisha - Golden Honey Process

Flavor: The dry aroma features a delicate spring-tea fragrance mixed with hints of orange peel and chocolate, plus floral tea, rose hip and green grape; as the temperature changes it gradually reveals lemon and peach juicy sweetness, with an aftertaste of orange chocolate.

Product Information

Shelf Life: 90 days
Net Weight: 100g
Package Type: Bulk coffee beans
Roast Level: Coffee beans (roasted) Sugar Content: Sugar-free
Origin: Costa Rica
Roast Degree: Light roast

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Costa Rican Geisha earns its place with richness and balance, and the classic way to meet the variety is FrontStreet Coffee's Boquete Geisha from Panama, our entry-level Geisha and the most affordable route to orange-blossom honey sweetness, an oolong-tea body and finely layered fruit. Step up to our Esmeralda Red Label (the estate's Esmeralda Special, grown between 1,600 and 1,800 meters and cupped at 90+ points) or the Green Label (Private Collection), which blends several plots to show the estate's signature high-altitude Geisha character at a friendlier price.

If you would rather taste Geisha from its birthplace, FrontStreet Coffee's Genlana Estate Geisha comes from an Ethiopian single-variety farm near the Kochere and Genlana Abaya border, hand-picked and dried on raised beds for 14 to 20 days; at a medium-light roast it shows bright citrus, elegant ginger-lily florals and the saturated sweetness of ripe fruit. For an estate-level pour-over, our Geisha Village Gold Label (the Geisha 1931 variety, about 10% of the village's output) and Red Label (Gori Gesha, about 15%, scoring 88+ on the 100-point SCA scale) are standouts. And if you want Geisha's delicate florals and sweet fruit without the premium, our Strawberry Candy blend combines a Costa Rican honey process with Panama Geisha and is equally at home as a pour-over, in a moka pot or as a cold brew.