Costa Rica Yellow Honey Elisa Rocadura Specialty Coffee Bean: Grading, Pricing, Green Beans, and Roasting

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Processing Method: Yellow Honey

Yellow Honey Processing: Approximately 40% of the mucilage is removed; the drying method requires the most direct heat absorption, receiving maximum sunlight exposure for drying, taking about 8 days to reach stable moisture content.

Costa Rican coffee has always been considered a classic flavor profile of perfect balance. Balance, cleanliness, and gentleness form its foundation. This batch from the Helsar de Zarcero processing plant in the West Valley region is renowned for its excellent natural geographical conditions and superior regional cultivation management techniques. It presents nearly perfect classic flavors with lively citrus notes in acidity, blackberry fruit aromas, rich acidity and mouthfeel, melon-like sweetness, smooth texture, subtle stone fruit/floral notes, and a remarkable coffee flower aroma in the aftertaste. It's a coffee full of Latin countryside charm.

Varieties: Caturra, Catuai

Processing Plant: Helsar de Zarcero

Flavor Notes: Brown sugar, almond, black tea

Costa Rica was the first country in Central America to cultivate coffee, with a long history and a complete system from production to sales. Located in the Central American isthmus with numerous volcanoes, it possesses natural advantages of sunshine and soil. The climate is moderated by Pacific and Atlantic ocean currents and sea breezes, producing coffee with characteristics unique to local microclimate terroir conditions. In terms of both quality and quantity, Costa Rican coffee has consistently received worldwide recognition and has been rated as one of the world's high-quality coffees.

The country's volcanic terrain provides fertile volcanic ash, mild and suitable temperatures, and stable, abundant rainfall—all factors contributing to coffee becoming one of Costa Rica's main agricultural products. The seven major producing regions are: Tarrzu, Tres Rios, Orosi, Central Valley, West Valley, Turrialba, and Brunca.

Costa Rica has a long history of coffee cultivation, but in the past decade or so, the innovative "dry" processing method has become popular, collectively known as the new "honey processing" method. By utilizing pulping machines to adjust the degree of pulp removal, it produces "honey sensation" ranging from light to rich, with colors varying from light to dark (white, yellow-red-white, yellow-red-black), each offering different levels of acidity, complex aromas, and richness—each with its own unique characteristics. The Helsar de Zarcero processing plant is located in the West Valley region's Naranjo area, where it enjoys high recognition. In addition to its own coffee plantation, it also processes and produces green beans for nearby estates and small coffee farmers.

Flavor: Brown sugar, floral notes, almond, black tea, orange and sweet spice notes, mild acidity, syrupy mouthfeel, excellent finish.

Caturra is a single-gene variant of Bourbon, discovered in Brazil in 1937. Both its productivity and disease resistance are superior to Bourbon, and the plants are shorter, making harvesting convenient. Unfortunately, like Bourbon, it suffers from the biennial production cycle problem. However, it has strong adaptability and doesn't require shade trees—it thrives even when directly exposed to intense sunlight, earning it the name "Sun Coffee." It can adapt to high-density planting but requires more fertilization, increasing costs, so initial farmer acceptance was not high.

However, during the 1970s when coffee prices soared, farmers switched to Caturra to increase yields. With vigorous promotion by Brazilian and Colombian authorities, the results were fruitful. Farmers' acceptance of Caturra signaled a major transformation in cultivation techniques. Brazil and Colombia adopted high-yield, high-density sun-exposed cultivation methods. By 1990, one million hectares could harvest 14 million bags of coffee beans, increasing productivity by 60%. No wonder high-yield, high-quality Caturra has become a variety relied upon by various producing countries.

Caturra is suitable for cultivation from low altitudes of 700 meters to high altitudes of 1700 meters, showing strong altitude adaptability. The higher the altitude, the better the flavor, but productivity decreases accordingly—this is the fate of specialty coffee beans. Some academics describe Caturra as the intensive, sun-exposed version of Bourbon, which is quite apt. There is also a yellow Caturra variant (Caturra Amarello) in Central and South America, but its reputation is not as good as that of Yellow Bourbon.

When lightly roasted, Caturra exhibits pronounced acidic aromas and overall brightness. With proper processing, its sweetness can be expressed exceptionally well, but the coffee body is relatively lower compared to Bourbon, and the cleanliness of the mouthfeel is somewhat lacking.

Typically, Caturra produces red berries, but in extremely rare areas, yellow Caturra can be found. For example, Hawaii grows very small quantities of yellow Caturra.

Hand-poured Yellow Honey: 15g of coffee, medium grind (Fuji Royal ceramic burr grinder #4), V60 dripper, water temperature 88-89°C. First pour 30g of water, bloom for 27 seconds. Pour to 105g and pause. Wait until the water level drops to halfway, then continue pouring slowly until reaching 225g. Avoid the tail section. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, extraction time 2:00.

Manufacturer: Dazhen Coffee FrontStreet Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee)
Address: No. 10 Bao'an Front Street, Guangzhou City
Manufacturer Contact: 020-38364473
Ingredients: In-house roasted
Shelf Life: 90 days
Net Weight: 227g
Packaging: Bulk coffee beans
Roast Level: Roasted coffee beans
Sugar Content: Sugar-free
Origin: Costa Rica
Coffee Type: Other
Roast Degree: Medium roast

Costa Rica Helsar De Zarcero

Country: Costa Rica

Grade: SHB

Region: West Valley

Roast Degree: Medium Roast

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473