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

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Manufacturer: Cafe_Style Address: No. 10 Bao'an Front Street, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou Shelf Life: 90 days Net Weight: 227g Packaging: Bulk coffee beans Roast Level: Roasted coffee beans Sugar Content: Sugar-free Origin: Costa Rica Roast Degree: Medium roast

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 Mondu 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 grow 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 fruits. On the contrary, some people have discovered in cupping that although coffee processed from some yellow fruits has good acidity, the cleanliness of the coffee taste 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 latitude, excellent climate, and soil conditions, making it the most famous and generally recognized as the best major coffee-producing region in Costa Rica. Tres Rios is a famous sub-region within the Tarrazu region. 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 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, as well as the Central Valley and Western Valley regions. Among these, many excellent independent estates are distributed, all carefully cultivating more refined washed and honey-processed coffee beans. Let's 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, receiving 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, drying time is longer, and direct sun exposure time is reduced, even using shade nets, lasting about 12 days.

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

Costa Rican Coffee Quality

Although Costa Rica has gained recognition from coffee connoisseurs through its honey-processed coffee beans, this is inseparable from Costa Rica's superior geographical and climatic conditions, and the fact that all planted coffee varieties are Arabica. Costa Rica's high-quality coffee beans are called "Strictly Hard Bean" (SHB), followed by Hard Bean (HB) and Semi-Hard Bean (SH) in decreasing quality order, which also serves as its grading system. Strictly Hard Bean grows above 1500 meters altitude, and altitude has always represented the quality of coffee - higher altitude means better quality. Additionally, the high altitude drop creates sufficient rainfall, which is very beneficial for coffee tree growth; moreover, the low temperatures at high altitudes at night cause slow tree growth, allowing coffee fruits to absorb more nutrients, resulting in 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 the development of specialty coffee started relatively late, Costa Rica's specialty coffee development is now rapid. With the gentle fruit acidity, smooth mouthfeel, and sweet, high-quality berry flavors of honey processing, it has become不容小觑 (significant). Black honey processing retains about 80% of the mucilage pulp, and their most obvious difference is that from yellow, red, to black, each becomes progressively sweeter. Combined with richer fruit notes, it is deeply loved by coffee connoisseurs.

Important Notice :

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