Costa Rica Black Honey Caturra from Finca Laurina - Tarrazú: Grading, Price, Green Beans, and Roast Profile

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Flavor Profile

Preserved plum, honey, brown sugar, orange blossom, white chocolate.

Taste Experience

Excellent sweetness, gentle fruit acidity, a rounded and full body, and a persistent aftertaste.

About This Coffee

This lot is a black honey processed coffee from La Minita Estate, in Costa Rica's celebrated Tarrazú region. Costa Rica came to specialty coffee relatively late, but its specialty sector has grown quickly. With a honey process that brings out gentle fruit acidity, a smooth mouthfeel, and sweet, premium berry flavors, Costa Rica has become a major force in the specialty world. Black honey processing retains about 80% of the mucilage, and the main difference between yellow, red, and black honey lies in steadily rising levels of sweetness. Paired with rich fruit notes, these coffees are deeply loved by connoisseurs.

Product Information

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

Coffee Details

Country: Costa Rica
Grade: SHB (Strictly Hard Bean)
Region: Tarrazú
Roast Level: Medium roast
Processing Method: Black honey process
Variety: Catuai
Estate: La Minita Estate
Flavor Notes: Preserved plum, honey, brown sugar

About Catuai Variety

Catuai is a variety created by artificially hybridizing Caturra with Mundo Novo. Catuai shows good resistance to natural disasters, especially wind and rain.

Catuai trees grow relatively low. Compared with other coffee trees, Catuai fruit hangs on more firmly and is harder to pick. The fruit comes in both red and yellow forms. To date, no significant flavor difference has been found between the two. In fact, some cuppers have observed that while coffee from yellow fruit may have good acidity, its cup cleanliness is often inferior to that of red fruit.

Catuai was developed in Brazil and is now widely grown across Central America.

Tarrazú Region

Costa Rica's most famous growing area is Tarrazú, near the capital, San José. Tarrazú has the highest average latitude in the country along with excellent climate and soil, which together make it Costa Rica's best-known and most widely recognized premium coffee region. Tres Rios is a well-known sub-region within Tarrazú. The most famous Costa Rican single-estate coffee in the specialty world is La Minita Estate, in the Tarrazú region, which produces only 160,000 pounds a year.

Brewing Instructions

To pour-over brew this black honey processed coffee, use 15g of coffee ground to a medium setting (Fujimaruki conical burr grinder #4), a V60 dripper, and water at 88-89°C. First pour 30g of water for a 27-second bloom, then pour to 105g and pause. Once the water level drops to the halfway point, pour slowly until you reach a total of 225g, avoiding the tail end. The water-to-coffee ratio is 1:15, with an extraction time of 2:00.

Coffee Processing Methods

Costa Rica's three most famous growing regions are Tarrazú, south of the capital, San José; the Central Valley; and the Western Valley. Within these areas sit many excellent independent estates that carefully cultivate both washed and honey-processed beans. There is every reason to look forward to more honey-processed surprises from Costa Rica.

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

Yellow Honey: About 40% of the mucilage is removed; drying needs the most direct heat absorption, taking in maximum sunlight for about 8 days until the moisture content stabilizes.

Red Honey: About 25% of the mucilage is removed; compared with yellow honey, drying takes longer and direct sun exposure is reduced, sometimes using shade nets for about 12 days.

Black Honey: Almost no mucilage is removed; drying takes the longest of all, at least 2 weeks, with coverings used to avoid excessive sunlight and prevent the beans from drying too quickly so that sugar conversion can complete.

Costa Rican Coffee Quality

Although Costa Rica has earned the recognition of connoisseurs through its honey-processed beans, that success cannot be separated from its superior geography and climate, nor from the fact that every coffee variety it grows is Arabica. Costa Rica's premium beans are graded "Strictly Hard Beans" (SHB), followed by Hard Beans (HB) and Semi-Hard Beans (SH) as quality decreases, and this same scale forms the country's grading system. Strictly Hard Beans are grown above 1,500 meters, and altitude has always stood for quality in coffee: the higher the elevation, the better the cup. The dramatic elevation change also brings abundant rainfall, which is highly beneficial for coffee tree growth. What is more, the lower temperatures at high altitude slow the trees' growth, allowing the cherries to absorb more nutrients and producing richer flavors.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Because this lot is defined by a black honey process, the most direct match on FrontStreet's list is FrontStreet Costa Rica Blackberry. It is made with the same distinctive black honey method: almost no mucilage is removed, drying lasts at least two weeks under cover to keep the sun from drying the beans too fast, and the cherries are turned at intervals so the sugars convert fully. After a medium-light roast, the ground coffee releases an intense floral aroma, and the cup shows grape, berry, and ripe blackberry notes, echoing the preserved plum, honey, and brown sugar sweetness of this Tarrazú lot.

For a sweeter, more aromatic variation on the same honey family, FrontStreet Costa Rica Mozart is worth trying. Its raisin honey process pre-dries the whole cherries on raised beds for at least three days before the skin and pulp are removed, and it keeps 100% of the mucilage, a demanding step that yields a deeper dried-fruit sweetness. Expect osmanthus, pineapple, and raisin notes; it suits pour-over, cold brew, and the moka pot alike. Both coffees reward the same gentle approach described above, with a medium grind and water at 88-89°C.