Costa Rica Tank Estate Flavor Profile and Characteristics

Villasarchi

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Villasarchi originated in Costa Rica and is a variety of Typica. Like Typica, it has a 60-degree angle between the branches and the trunk, with bronze-colored leaves. This variety grows exceptionally well at high altitude and has strong wind resistance. It can also grow in poor soil, though it thrives better under shade trees. Its most prominent flavor characteristic is excellent sweetness and pleasant acidity.

Costa Rica West Valley Monte Solis EI Tanque Villa Sarhi Natural

To make Villasarchi as a pour-over: use 15g of coffee ground to a medium size (Fuji Royal burr grinder setting 4) in a V60 dripper, with water at 88-89°C. First pour 30g of water and let it bloom for 27 seconds. Continue pouring to 105g, then pause until the water level drops halfway. Slowly pour until the total reaches 225g, avoiding the tail section. The water-to-coffee ratio is 1:15, and the extraction takes 2:00.

Coffee Details

Country: Costa Rica

Grade: SHB

Region: West Valley

Roast Level: Medium Roast

Processing Method: Natural Process

Variety: Villasarchi

Estate: EI Tanque

Flavor Notes: Lime, Caramel, Nuts

Costa Rica's premium coffee beans are graded "Strictly Hard Bean" (SHB), followed by Hard Bean (HB) and Semi-Hard Bean (SH) in descending quality order, and this same system doubles as the country's classification. Strictly Hard Bean grows above 1,500 meters, and altitude has always stood for quality — higher means better. The significant elevation drop also brings abundant rainfall, which is very beneficial for coffee trees. What is more, the low temperatures at high altitude slow the trees' growth, allowing the cherries to absorb more nutrients and producing richer flavors.

The three most famous producing regions are Tarrazú, south of Costa Rica's capital San José, along with the Central Valley and Western Valley. Natural processing is a very traditional method that uses minimal resources, but with so many uncontrollable factors, doing it well is extremely difficult. Francesca has added many innovations, such as using a Brix meter — standard equipment in the wine industry — to measure the sugar content of the fruit. She sets the optimal harvest time and processing method according to Brix readings, and only fruit exceeding 20% sweetness is given natural processing. For reference, apples typically read 14 Brix, lemons 12 and passion fruit 18, while La Hajas' coffee cherries can reach 21-22%. La Hajas produces not only natural and honey-processed coffees but also washed coffees, and grows varieties including Caturra, Catuai and Villa Sarchi, along with small amounts of Kenyan varieties such as SL28 and Obata.

The natural process is fairly labor-intensive. Hand-picked, high-sugar cherries are first laid out on African raised beds to dry in the sun for about 10 days, then moved into greenhouses covered with plastic sheets, where more direct heat keeps the drying going until moisture content reaches 11.5%. This slow drying lets the raw beans develop more natural sweetness from within, but it also demands meticulous care and precise calculation of how often to turn them. When the bright red cherries finally turn black and give off aromas of fruit cake, caramel and even sherry, the process is complete.

Flavor Profile

Flavor Notes: Lime, Caramel, Nuts

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

Product Information

Manufacturer: FrontStreet Coffee

Address: No. 10 Bao'an Front Street, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou

Contact: 020-38364473

Ingredients: House-roasted coffee

Shelf Life: 90 days

Net Weight: 227g

Packaging: Bulk coffee beans

State: Roasted coffee beans

Sugar Content: Unsweetened

Origin: Costa Rica

Roast Level: Medium Roast

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If the tropical-fruit richness of a natural-process coffee like this Costa Rican lot is what you enjoy, FrontStreet Coffee's Ethiopia Huakui is one of the most successful star products of the specialty market in recent years, and it makes the same idea even more vivid. Its defining trait is an extremely prominent tropical fruit aroma — strawberry, passion fruit, jackfruit and even lychee come through readily — with obvious sweetness and almost no bitterness, so it goes down smooth and full of juice. Many drinkers describe it as "the coffee that tastes least like coffee," which makes it a great choice for anyone who usually dislikes the bitter side of the drink.

Fruit-forward naturals like this are exactly what a V60 is built for: the fast, even extraction lifts the aromatic top notes and keeps the lively acidity and clean sweetness on display instead of muddying them.