Costa Rica Black Honey Catuai La Tarrazú Finca La Minita Coffee Bean Varieties, Brand Recommendations and Estate

Costa Rican Coffee Details

Country: Costa Rica

Grade: SHB

Region: Tarrazu

Roast Level: Medium roast

Processing Method: Black honey processing

Variety: Catuai

Estate: Finca La Milla

Flavor Notes: Preserved plum, honey, brown sugar

About Catuai Variety

Catuai is a coffee variety that is an artificial hybrid of Caturra and Mundo Novo. Catuai has relatively good resistance to natural disasters, particularly wind and rain.

Catuai trees are relatively low-growing. Compared to other coffee trees, Catuai fruits hold on more firmly and are not easy to harvest. The fruits come in both red and yellow varieties. To date, no superior taste has been found in yellow fruits compared to red. On the contrary, some have found in cupping that although coffee processed from certain yellow fruits has good acidity, its cleanliness is inferior to that of red fruits.

Catuai was cultivated in Brazil and is now widely planted throughout Central America.

Tarrazu Region

The country's most famous growing area is Tarrazu, near the capital San José. The Tarrazu region has the highest average altitude along with excellent climate and soil conditions, which makes it generally recognized as the best major coffee-producing region in Costa Rica. Tres Rios is a famous sub-region within Tarrazu. 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 160000 pounds.

Brewing Instructions

Pour-over black honey: 15g of coffee, medium grind (Fuji R4 grinder), V60 dripper, water temperature 88-89°C. First pour 30g of water, let it bloom for 27 seconds, then pour to 105g and stop. Wait until the water level in the coffee bed drops to half, then slowly pour until reaching 225g total. Avoid the tail section. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, extraction time 2:00.

Its three most famous origins are Tarrazu, located south of Costa Rica's capital San José, along with the Central Valley and Western Valley regions. Many excellent independent estates are distributed across them, all carefully cultivating more refined washed and honey-processed coffee beans. We can look forward to more honey-processed coffee surprises from Costa Rica.

Honey Processing Methods

We commonly see three honey processing methods: yellow honey, red honey and black honey.

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

Red Honey: About 25% of the mucilage is removed; compared to yellow honey the drying time is longer and direct sun exposure is reduced, even using shade nets, lasting about 12 days.

Black Honey: Almost no mucilage is removed; drying takes the longest, at least 2 weeks, using coverings to avoid too much direct sunlight, which prevents overly rapid drying and allows more complete sugar conversion.

Costa Rican Coffee Quality

Although Costa Rica has earned recognition from coffee connoisseurs through its honey-processed beans, this is inseparable from its superior geographical and climatic conditions and the fact that every coffee variety planted there is Arabica. Costa Rica's highest-quality beans are called "Strictly Hard Bean" (SHB), followed by Hard Bean (HB) and Semi-Hard Bean (SH) in decreasing order of quality, which also serves as its grading system. Strictly Hard Bean grows above 1500 meters altitude, and altitude has always stood for coffee quality: the higher the altitude, the better the quality. The high-altitude drop also creates sufficient rainfall, which benefits coffee tree growth, while the low nighttime temperatures at altitude slow the trees and let the fruit absorb more nutrients, producing richer coffee flavors.

Final Flavor Profile

Flavor: Preserved plum, honey, brown sugar, orange blossom, white chocolate

Taste: Excellent sweetness, gentle fruit acidity, round and full-bodied, persistent aftertaste

This batch of Finca La Milla black honey processed coffee comes from the famous Tarrazu region of Costa Rica. Although its specialty coffee development started relatively late, Costa Rica's specialty coffee has grown rapidly since. With the gentle fruit acidity, smooth mouthfeel and sweet, high-quality berry flavors of honey processing, it has become a significant force. Black honey processing retains about 80% of the mucilage, and the most obvious difference across yellow, red and black is that each becomes progressively sweeter. Combined with richer fruit notes, it is deeply loved by coffee connoisseurs.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If this black honey Catuai has caught your interest, it is worth understanding where it fits. It is a medium-roasted Catuai from the Tarrazu region of Costa Rica, graded SHB, and processed as black honey. In the cup you get preserved plum, honey and brown sugar, rounded out by orange blossom and white chocolate, with excellent sweetness, a gentle fruit acidity, a full body and a long, persistent aftertaste.

To brew it well, FrontStreet suggests a V60 with 15g of coffee at a medium grind, roughly Fuji R4, and 88-89°C water. Pour 30g of water and let it bloom for 27 seconds, then pour to 105g and stop. Wait until the water level in the bed drops to half, then pour slowly to a total of 225g, avoiding the tail section. A 1:15 ratio with an extraction time of about 2:00 keeps the sweetness clean and the acidity gentle.

Because the honey process leaves much of the mucilage on the bean, this is a coffee that rewards a careful pour. The longer, covered drying of black honey, at least two weeks, drives a fuller sugar conversion, which is exactly why the finished cup leans toward preserved plum and brown sugar rather than the brighter fruit of a lighter honey grade. It is also a natural bridge to FrontStreet's other honey-forward single origins, should you want to taste how the same processing style shifts from one region to the next.