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How to Properly Enjoy Costa Rica Black Honey Coffee & Bean Pricing

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/27, Professional barista communication - Follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style). The honey processing methods we typically see include: Yellow Honey, Red Honey, and Black Honey. Yellow Honey: Approximately 40% of the mucilage is removed; drying requires the most direct heat absorption, receiving maximum sunlight for drying, taking about 8 days to reach stable moisture content. Red Honey: Approximately 25% of the mucilage is removed; compared to Yellow

For professional barista communication, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style).

Honey Processing Methods

We typically see three types of honey processing methods: Yellow Honey, Red Honey, and Black Honey.

Yellow Honey: About 40% of the mucilage is removed; the drying process requires the most direct heat absorption, receiving maximum sunlight for drying, taking approximately 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, with reduced direct sunlight exposure, sometimes using shade nets, taking approximately 12 days.

Black Honey: Almost no mucilage is removed; the drying time is the longest, taking at least 2 weeks, using coverings to avoid excessive sunlight and prevent too-rapid drying, allowing for more thorough sugar conversion.

Pour-over Brewing Method

Pour-over brewing for Black Honey: 15g of coffee, medium grind (using Fuji's ghost tooth grinder #4), V60 dripper, water temperature 88-89°C. First pour 30g of water for a 27-second bloom, then pour to 105g and pause. Wait until the water level in the coffee bed drops to halfway, then continue pouring slowly until reaching 225g. Avoid the tail section. Water-to-coffee ratio is 1:15, extraction time 2:00.

Costa Rican Coffee Excellence

Although Costa Rica has gained recognition from coffee connoisseurs through honey-processed coffee beans, this is inseparable from Costa Rica's superior geographical and climatic conditions, as well as the exclusive cultivation of Arabica varieties. Costa Rica's premium coffee beans are known as "Strictly Hard Bean" (SHB), followed by Hard Bean (HB) and Semi-Hard Bean (SH) in descending quality order, which also serves as their grading system. Strictly Hard Bean grows at altitudes above 1500 meters, and altitude has always represented coffee quality - higher altitude means better quality. Additionally, the significant altitude variations create abundant rainfall, which is very beneficial for coffee tree growth. Moreover, the lower night temperatures at high altitudes slow down tree growth, allowing coffee cherries to absorb more nutrients, resulting in richer coffee flavors.

Flavor Profile

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

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

Farm Information

This batch of Black Honey processed coffee comes from the renowned La Florida Farm in Costa Rica's famous Tarrazú region. Although Costa Rica started developing specialty coffee relatively late, its specialty coffee industry has developed rapidly. With the gentle fruit acidity, smooth mouthfeel, and sweet, high-quality berry flavors of honey processing, Costa Rica has become a force to be reckoned with. Black Honey processing retains about 80% of the mucilage, and their most obvious distinction is that they become progressively sweeter from Yellow, to Red, to Black Honey. Combined with richer fruit notes, they have won the favor of coffee connoisseurs.

Product Details

Manufacturer: Coffee Workshop
Address: No. 10 Bao'an Qian 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

Coffee Specifications

Country: Costa Rica
Grade: SHB
Region: Tarrazú
Roast Level: Medium roast
Processing Method: Black Honey processing
Variety: Catuai
Farm: La Florida Farm
Flavor: Preserved plum, honey, brown sugar

Catuai Variety

Catuai is a coffee variety artificially hybridized from Caturra and Mundo Novo. Catuai has relatively good resistance to natural disasters, particularly wind and rain.

The Catuai tree variety is relatively short. 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 ones. In fact, some people have found in cupping that although coffee processed from some yellow fruits has good acidity, the cleanliness of the coffee's mouthfeel is inferior to that from red fruits.

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

Tarrazú Region

The country's most famous growing region is Tarrazú, near the capital San José. The Tarrazú region has the highest average latitude, excellent climate and soil conditions, making it Costa Rica's most famous and generally recognized as the best major coffee-producing region. Tres Rios is a famous sub-region within the Tarrazú region. The most famous Costa Rican single-estate coffee in the specialty coffee world is La Minita estate in the Tarrazú region, with an annual production of only 160,000 pounds.

Its three most famous origins are Tarrazú, located south of Costa Rica's capital San José, as well as the Central Valley and Western Valley regions. Among these are distributed many excellent independent estates, all dedicated to cultivating more refined washed and honey-processed coffee beans. Let us look forward to more honey-processed coffee surprises from Costa Rica together.