How Costa Rican Black Honey Coffee is Made and How Costa Rican Coffee Bean Grades are Classified

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Product Information

Manufacturer: Coffee Workshop
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

Coffee Details

Country: Costa Rica

Grade: SHB

Region: Tarrazu

Roast Degree: Medium roast

Processing Method: Black honey processing

Variety: Catuai

Estate: Finca La Florida

Flavor: 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 pick. 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 found in cupping that although coffee processed from 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, located 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-origin coffee in the specialty coffee world is the La Minita estate in the Tarrazu region, with an annual production of only 160,000 pounds.

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 are distributed many excellent independent estates, all diligently cultivating more refined washed and honey-processed coffee beans. Let us look forward to more honey-processed coffee surprises from Costa Rica.

Honey Processing Methods

The honey processing methods we commonly see are: Yellow honey, Red honey, Black honey

Yellow honey: About 40% of the mucilage is removed; the drying method requires the most direct heat absorption, receiving maximum sunlight for drying, 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 the time of direct sun exposure is reduced, even using shade nets, lasting about 12 days.

Black honey: Almost no mucilage is removed; the drying time is the longest, lasting at least 2 weeks, using coverings to avoid too strong sunlight, preventing drying too quickly, allowing more thorough sugar conversion.

Brewing Method

Hand-pour black honey. 15g of coffee, medium grind (Fuji ghost tooth grinder #4), V60 dripper, water temperature 88-89°C. First pour 30g of water, bloom for 27 seconds, pour to 105g then stop, wait until the water level in the coffee bed drops to half before pouring again, slowly pour until reaching 225g, discard the tail end. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, extraction time 2:00.

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 climate conditions, and that all cultivated 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 is also its grading system. Strictly Hard Bean grows at altitudes above 1500 meters, and altitude has always represented the quality of coffee - higher altitude means better quality. Additionally, due to the high altitude drop creating sufficient rainfall, this is very beneficial for coffee tree growth; moreover, the low temperatures at high altitudes at night slow tree growth, allowing coffee cherries to better absorb more nutrients, resulting in richer coffee flavors.

Tasting Notes

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

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

This batch of Finca La Florida black honey processed coffee comes from Costa Rica's famous Tarrazu region. 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 cannot be underestimated. Black honey processing retains about 80% of the mucilage, 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.

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