Differences, Distinctions, and Award Status of Costa Rica Tarrazú Otis Rock Yellow Honey Process Geisha

Costa Rica Tarrazu Honey Geisha

Coffee Information

Country: Costa Rica

Grade: SHB

Region: Tarrazu

Roast Level: Light Roast

Processing Method: Honey Process

Honey Processing Method

After the pulp and skin are removed, the beans are dried with their mucilage still attached. The key to telling one honey process from another lies in that remaining mucilage: how much is retained, how long the coffee dries, and how it is dried.

Characteristics of Honey Processing

Coffee cherries are tested for sugar content before harvest, and only cherries measuring 21-22% sugar are selected. Unlike other processing methods, honey processing requires drying on African beds. Dried directly on concrete or bare soil, the beans can easily be scratched during turning, which invites bacterial infection; sun-drying straight on the ground can also lend the beans an earthy flavor.

Taste Differences Between Honey and Washed Processing

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

Beans processed this way also need good ventilation while drying. Otherwise the retained mucilage can easily ferment or mold, producing off-flavors.

The common honey processing styles we see are yellow honey, red honey, and black honey.

Detailed Information

Variety: Geisha

Processing Mill: Otis Rock Processing Mill

Flavor: Floral tea, rosehip, green grape flavors

Costa Rica's Mei processing method, also known as honey processing, is unique. Old Li recently obtained these Costa Rican red honey processed beans, which prompted him to study the distinctive ways Costa Rica handles its Mei processing.

Otis Rock Estate Introduction

Otis Rock Processing Mill is an emerging estate in Costa Rica. The family cooperative was founded in 1994, but it was not until 2005 that they established their own processing mill, which now has 17 years of history behind it. Otis Rock Processing Mill sits about 5km north of San Marcos town in the Tarrazu region, overseeing ten coffee estates, including Yanuo Estate, across mountain slopes that range from 1500-2000 meters, all classified as SHB (Strictly Hard Bean), the highest grade.

Otis 2000m Estate Geisha - Golden Honey Process

Flavor: The dry aroma carries a delicate spring tea fragrance mixed with hints of orange peel and chocolate, along with floral tea, rosehip, and green grape. As the cup cools, lemon and the juicy sweetness of peach gradually emerge, with orange chocolate in the aftertaste.

Origin: Costa Rica
Roast Degree: Light roast

About Geisha Coffee

When it comes to Geisha beans, many people are captivated by their wonderful floral aroma and rich fruit sweetness. In 2015, a huge surge of Panama Geisha popularity led many to believe, mistakenly, that Geisha was exclusive to Panama. That is not the case. The Geisha variety was first discovered in Ethiopia in 1931, and after a series of transplants and cultivation it found its way to other countries and regions.

Costa Rican Geisha tends to have more body than Panamanian Geisha. If Panamanian Geisha is a fresh, delicate style, then Costa Rican Geisha belongs to a more restrained one.

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. Situated on Central America's low-latitude volcanic belt, it has a Central Plateau and mountainous regions at roughly 800-2000 meters, well suited to coffee cultivation. Costa Rican coffee has always been famous for its extremely balanced, clean, and bright profile with berry-like fruit acidity. Excellent Costa Rican coffee shows spice and cocoa in the aftertaste.

The country's most famous growing region is Tarrazu, near the capital San José. Tarrazu has the highest average altitude along with excellent climate and soil, making it the most famous and widely recognized outstanding coffee-producing region in Costa Rica. Tres Rios is a well-known sub-region within Tarrazu. The most renowned Costa Rican single-origin coffee in the specialty world is La Minita Estate in Tarrazu, with an annual production of only 160,000 pounds.

Brewing Instructions

Pour-over yellow honey: 15g of coffee, ground to a medium-fine consistency (setting 3.5 on the Fuji ghost-tooth grinder), a V60 dripper, and water at 91-93°C. First pour 30g of water and let it bloom for 27 seconds. Continue pouring to 105g, then pause and wait until the water level drops halfway before slowly pouring again to a total of 225g. Avoid the tail end. Water-to-coffee ratio is 1:15, total extraction time 2:00.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If this look at a Costa Rican honey-processed Geisha has you curious about the variety itself, FrontStreet Coffee carries Geisha across several origins. FrontStreet Esmeralda Red Label Geisha is the top tier, grown at 1600-1800 meters and cupped above 90 points per lot, each batch numbered and drawn from a single plot such as the Halimiujo block. FrontStreet Esmeralda Green Label Geisha, the Private Collection series, blends several plots for the estate's signature high-altitude Geisha character at a friendlier price. For an entry point, FrontStreet Boquete Geisha from Panama shows the classic orange-blossom honeyed charm with oolong-tea body and delicate fruit acidity. Alternatively, FrontStreet Grana Estate Geisha, an Ethiopian natural Gesha roasted light to medium, offers bright citrus acidity, elegant ginger flower, and ripe fruit sweetness.