Costa Rica Tres Milagros Estate Coffee Beans: Quality, Varieties, and Flavor Profile

For professional barista exchanges, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style)

Costa Rica Finca Tres Milagros

In the specialty coffee circle, when mentioning Camilo, the owner of Santa Teresa Estate, most people agree that due to his extraordinary passion for coffee cultivation and innovative experimental spirit, he has become a partner for many top baristas worldwide over the years. In 2013, the Facusse family, who had long operated food sales in Costa Rica through the Dinant company, decided to collaborate with Camilo based on his successful experience with estates in Colombia to start a brand new estate project in Costa Rica, naming it Finca Tres Milagros (Three Miracles Estate). The origin of the name "Three Miracles" comes from Camilo's belief that all successful estates must have three factors working together and cooperating: coffee trees, farmers, and land.

When deciding to start the Costa Rica estate project, location was the most crucial determining factor. After long discussions and land evaluation processes, they finally chose to select the Tarrazu region, the highest altitude growing area in Costa Rica. The estate is located at an altitude of 1,450-1,750 meters, with volcanic ash soil from the Irazu volcano, providing sufficient nutrients for the coffee trees. Meanwhile, Camilo also required the estate to maintain low-density coffee tree planting areas, which helps with nutrient absorption and growth of coffee trees, as well as enhancing cupping quality. Currently, Finca Tres Milagros has about 120 hectares of planted area, with only about 300 bags of top-tier micro-batch production annually. Additionally, the estate's hardware facilities are mainly planned around four key points:

First, adopting a Green House System to provide better humidity, temperature, and ventilation for green coffee beans during the natural drying stage.

Second, an Intercrop System, which promotes estate ecological diversity by planting different plants and also helps farmers control the farm ecosystem.

Third, Shade Grown System, where most of the estate uses Inga tree species combined with some other local trees, ensuring coffee trees grow in a well-shaded environment during their growth process, protecting the coffee trees' development.

Fourth is selecting the right coffee varieties. When Camilo first started planting at the estate, he decided to use traditional low-yield but better-flavored coffee varieties. Excellent varieties include Bourbon and Geisha, as well as F1, which is a new variety developed in recent years by the French research organization CIRAD in Costa Rica. F1 is a hybrid of Villa Sarchi+Sachimor and Sudan Rume varieties. Besides having the traditional Central American Villa Sarchi flavor, it also carries the citrus notes of the African Sudan Rume variety.

FrontStreet Coffee · Finca Tres Milagros Bourbon Honey

■ Country: Costa Rica

■ Region: Dota, Tarrazu

■ Altitude: 1450-1750 meters

■ Processing Method: Honey

■ Grade: SHB

■ Variety: Bourbon

■ Flavor Description: Stone fruit, syrup, brown sugar, honey

FrontStreet Coffee · Finca Tres Milagros F1 Natural

■ Country: Costa Rica

■ Region: Dota, Tarrazu

■ Altitude: 1450-1750 meters

■ Processing Method: Natural

■ Grade: SHB

■ Variety: F1

■ Flavor Description: Peach, fruit juice, cranberry juice, excellent cleanliness

FrontStreet Coffee · Finca Tres Milagros F1 Honey

■ Country: Costa Rica

■ Region: Dota, Tarrazu

■ Altitude: 1450-1750 meters

■ Processing Method: Honey

■ Grade: SHB

■ Variety: F1

■ Flavor Description: Syrup, apricot, grape, apple juice, smoky aftertaste

FrontStreet Coffee · Finca Tres Milagros Geisha Natural

■ Country: Costa Rica

■ Region: Dota, Tarrazu

■ Altitude: 1450-1750 meters

■ Processing Method: Natural

■ Grade: SHB

■ Variety: Geisha

■ Flavor Description: Citrus peel, orange, clean, excellent sweetness

FrontStreet Coffee · Finca Tres Milagros Bourbon Washed

■ Country: Costa Rica

■ Region: Dota, Tarrazu

■ Altitude: 1450-1750 meters

■ Processing Method: Washed

■ Grade: SHB

■ Variety: Bourbon

■ Flavor Description: Delicate floral notes in the front, stone fruit, chocolate, hazelnut, citrus, herbal plant aromas. Other high-quality Costa Rican coffees include Juan Vinas (PR); H.Tournon; Windmill (SHB); Monte bellow; Santa Rosa; FJO Sarchi.

Note: Premium Costa Rican coffee beans are called "Strictly Hard Beans," with classification standards as follows:

SHB (Strictly Hard Beans): Above 1200 meters (3900 feet)

GHB (Good Hard Beans): 1200-1000 meters (3900-3300 feet)

MHB (Medium Hard Beans): 1000-500 meters (3300-1600 feet)

Clear and Sweet Floral Aroma

FrontStreet Coffee · Costa Rica Coffee

Full beans, ideal acidity, unique and intense aroma.

Tarrazu in Costa Rica is one of the world's major coffee-producing regions. The coffee produced there has a light and pure flavor with a pleasant aroma. Costa Rica's volcanic soil is very fertile and well-drained, making it the first country in Central America to grow coffee and bananas for commercial value. Coffee and bananas are the country's main export commodities. In 1729, coffee was introduced to Costa Rica from Cuba. Today, its coffee industry is one of the best-organized in the world, with yields reaching up to 1700 kg per hectare. Costa Rica has only 3.5 million people but more than 400 million coffee trees. Coffee exports account for 25% of the country's total export value. Costa Rica also benefits from the Central American Agricultural Research Institute (Turrialba of the Central American Agricultural Research Institute,简称IAAC) located in Tarrazu, which is an important international research center.

Premium Costa Rican coffee is called "Strictly Hard Beans," which can grow at altitudes above 1500 meters. Altitude has always been a challenge for coffee growers. The higher the altitude, the better the coffee beans, not only because higher altitude increases the acidity of the beans and thus enhances flavor, but also because the lower nighttime temperatures at higher altitudes slow tree growth, resulting in more intense coffee flavors. Additionally, the altitude differences create abundant rainfall, which is very beneficial for coffee tree growth. However, although there are many advantages to growing coffee at higher altitudes, the additional transportation costs must be considered, which could make coffee production unprofitable. Costa Rica's coffee industry has adopted new technologies to increase efficiency, including using "electronic eyes" to select beans and identify irregularly sized coffee beans.

Tarrazu is located south of the country's capital San Jose and is one of the most valued coffee-growing areas in the country. "La Minita Tarrazu" coffee is a local specialty, but production is limited to about 72,600 kg annually. It is grown on land called "La Minita," owned by the British McAlpine family for the past three generations. In fact, this land can produce over 450 tons of coffee annually. However, La Minita Tarrazu coffee is grown without artificial fertilizers or pesticides, and its harvesting and selection are done entirely by hand to avoid damage to coffee beans that can be caused by air-jet sorting methods to some extent.

Other noteworthy coffees include: Juan Vinas (PR), H.Tournon, Windmill (SHB), Monte bello, and Santa Rosa. Premium coffee generally grows in Heredia and the Central Valley. Another notable coffee is Sarchi coffee (Sarchi is one of the five towns representing Costa Rica's "Coffee Route"), which grows on the slopes of Poas Volcano, 53 kilometers from San Jose. The Sarchi company was founded in 1949, with 30,770 hectares of land growing sugarcane and coffee. This area is also famous for handicrafts, attracting tourists from around the world.

Why Are Honey Processed Coffees So Wonderful?

When honey processing is so difficult to do well and time-consuming, you might wonder if it's really worth it?

Without a doubt, absolutely worth it.

Honey processed coffees generally have an excellent balance of sweetness and fruit acidity. The flavor is usually not as intense as natural processed coffee but is fresher and more mellow. Why not?

The key to this flavor difference comes from the sugars and acids in the mucilage layer. During drying, the sugars in the mucilage layer become more concentrated, and these sugars penetrate into the coffee beans.

Yellow Honey, Red Honey, Black Honey Processing - What's the Difference?

When you buy honey processed coffee, you usually have choices of yellow honey, red honey, and black honey. You may have also heard that these honey processing methods retain different percentages of mucilage layer, but what exactly does this mean?

Coffee farmers classify their coffee. Some retain less mucilage layer, which allows for faster drying, while others retain more mucilage layer and require longer drying time. Yellow honey (retaining about 25% of mucilage layer) requires minimal shade (clouds, shade trees) during drying to complete faster, achieving a yellow appearance. Red honey (retaining about 50% of mucilage layer) takes longer and needs some shade for drying. Black honey (retaining about 100% of mucilage layer) is usually covered during drying to extend the drying time.

Yellow Honey, Red Honey, Black Honey Processed Coffee (from left to right)

Which is Better: Yellow Honey, Red Honey, or Black Honey?

Black honey might be superior. Honey processed flavors are influenced more delicately and deeply by the residual sugars in the mucilage layer - the more mucilage retained, the more intense the flavor. (This is the original author's viewpoint; Coffee Seedling believes each processing method has its unique characteristics and varies by personal preference.)

However, for coffee producers, another commercial consideration must be faced. Although black honey processing can produce better quality and higher-priced coffee, the risks and costs also increase significantly, which might affect farmers' willingness to use black honey processing. The longer coffee is dried, the more likely bacterial growth during fermentation can cause defective moldy beans. More frequent turning of these beans is required, and they occupy more drying space - up to twice as much as yellow honey processing. It's not just about producing high-quality coffee; it's also about enabling coffee farmers to produce the most profitable coffee.

What Does Honey Processing Mean to You?

Roasters: The Key to Honey Processing is Consistency in Mouthfeel and Flavor

Roasters often face the challenge of how to adjust blend recipes or maintain certain flavor profiles as much as possible. This means not only understanding honey processing but also other processing methods to help with blend formulations. This allows more accurate bean substitution, creating new blend recipes, and narrowing flavor choices when replacing beans.

However, it's still based on various factors like region, processing method, growing altitude, and many different variables that influence and change. The final coffee shouldn't be blindly purchased just because it's honey processed. It might have wonderful sweetness, acidity, and fruity aftertaste, but it's not always the same.

Baristas: Coffee Knowledge is Valuable

Baristas make great coffee for everyone daily. Knowing how coffee is planted, processed, harvested, and roasted from the beginning is a great help for baristas to make better-flavored coffee. Through comprehensive understanding, they can create tastes even they haven't experienced before. Every cup of coffee is unique. A coffee shop's blend with rich chocolate and caramel flavors might come from single-origin coffee with high sweetness and low acidity, like natural processed Ethiopian coffee, before mixing.

Know yourself and know your customer. Absorb knowledge from all sources with a curious mind, not just for yourself but also for consumers. If you can tell consumers why natural processed Ethiopian coffee is much sweeter than the washed Indonesian Sumatran coffee they drank last week, consumers will be willing to visit your coffee shop again. People are curious. When they believe the barista around them knows what they want, they will come back to the shop.

The country's coffee industry was originally controlled by the Instituto del Café de Costa Rica (ICAFE) and has now been taken over by the Oficina del Café. Among exported coffees, those deemed unqualified are dyed with blue plant dye and returned for domestic sale. Coffee consumed domestically (dyed blue or undyed) accounts for about 10% of total production, and local per capita coffee consumption is twice that of Italy or the United States.

About Costa Rican Coffee Beans (Central America)

Tarrazu, Costa Rica is one of the world's largest coffee-producing regions. It is located in Costa Rica's Central Valley, south of the country's capital San Jose, and has very rich high mountain volcanic soil. Tarrazu is one of Costa Rica's four premium coffee-growing regions. The other three very important coffee-growing regions include Tres Rios, Heredia, and Alajuela.

Coffee produced in Tarrazu has a light and pure flavor with bright acidity and citrus or berry-like aromas. Coffee from this region has extremely high ratings in the international coffee market. In Tarrazu, there is a rare gourmet coffee bean - La Minita Tarrazu. Its coffee production is limited to about 72,600 kg (160,000 pounds) annually. It is grown on land called La Minita, owned by the British McAlpine family for the past three generations. The main reason it's so highly regarded is that La Minita Tarrazu is grown without artificial fertilizers or pesticides, and its harvesting and selection are done individually by hand (this is done to avoid damage to coffee beans that can be caused by air-jet sorting methods to some extent).

Costa Rica Honey Process

If you like light, tea-like coffee with sweet flavors like honeydew melon with slight floral notes, plus lemon and nutty flavors, honey processed beans from Costa Rica in Central America might suit your taste. Honey processing refers to first removing the outer skin of coffee cherries with a pulper, then placing the parchment beans with mucilage on racks for sun drying. This water-saving processing method makes the coffee taste sweeter and more fragrant.

Located in the fertile volcanic soil of Costa Rica's Central Valley, Zamora Estate in San Isidro de Heredia was the champion farm of the 2012 Costa Rica C.O.E coffee competition. The farm is owned by the Rodriguez Carballo family, who have been engaged in coffee production since 1880. This coffee has complex flavors with floral notes and ripe, juicy fruit flavors, with a very clean mouthfeel.

La Minita is considered a world-class famous estate. In the minds of some coffee professionals and baristas, it's top-tier because last year's WBC champion, Klaus Thomsen from Denmark, used La Minita as the main espresso blend and also for creative drink structural flavors. This year in Tokyo, contestants indeed used it as expected.

Starting this year, the McAlpine family uses "La Minita" as the common quality control标识 for all their green beans. All green beans exported by the group are marked with a riding seal on the burlap bags. Here are the newly arrived La Minita and its seal:

The McAlpine family started operating La Minita in 1967. It can be said that when discussing specialty coffee estates, "La Minita" is always mentioned! In recent years, in SCAA and SCAE cupping courses, instructors almost always mention La Minita when listing mouthfeel or specialty beans. La Minita not only has been畅销 in Europe for over 50 years but also enjoys a high reputation in the American market!

La Minita's Fame Comes from 7 Major Characteristics:

【1】Superior geographical conditions and microclimate: Tarrazu is Costa Rica's most famous region, but La Minita has two rivers, the Tarrazu River and Alumbre River, which converge in the western mountainous area of the estate, fully regulating temperature. The estate's west-facing advantage provides favorable conditions where mornings aren't too cold and evenings don't cool too quickly. Rainfall distribution is excellent, with moderate rainfall from flowering to fruiting periods providing irrigation and nourishment. Quality clay layers provide sufficient nutrients. The average high altitude of 4000-6000 feet ensures bean hardness and high sweetness!

The following image shows the rivers and spectacular waterfalls in the estate area:

【2】Selected good varieties: The estate has coffee varieties including Caturra, Catuai red, Catuai yellow, and Hibrido (hybrid species). After cupping quality evaluation and statistical selection, it now mainly focuses on Caturra and small amounts of old Hibrido.

【3】Strict quality control (1) Crop rotation and tree replacement system: All coffee trees follow a five-year rotation system, meaning after 4 years of harvesting, the 5th year requires cutting back to only 50 cm to rest and regrow before harvesting again! The farm has a total of 1.5 million trees, with an average of 350,000 trees needing rotation cutting annually! Besides rotation, tree replacement is also needed! Each coffee tree is harvested for only 15 years, after which new trees are planted to ensure quality. 150,000 trees need replacement annually, and shade trees are planted around the coffee trees for shade cultivation.

【4】The wet mill's procedures are very rigorous, and after processing, they use sun drying followed by machine drying.

The following image shows a bird's-eye view of the wet mill and some of its equipment:

【5】Green bean elimination rate exceeds 70%, meaning only less than 29% of green beans can be sold with La Minita estate bean labeling.

【6】In the final green bean selection stage, 30,000 work hours are needed for careful selection, and only qualified ones can use the La Minita label.

The following image shows manual selection in the final stage:

【7】Dedication! For example: The three major stages of Harvesting, Pruning, and processing are all handled with great care. During harvest, La Minita's coffee trees undergo an average of 5 batch harvests because only the ripest cherries are picked. Batch harvesting means it's labor-intensive and requires great patience. Pruning refers to crop rotation, which ensures the land doesn't become over-exhausted and maintains green bean quality at its peak without needing chemical fertilizers for forced fertilization. Processing refers to the post-harvest handling of coffee cherries. In 2001, La Minita built its own wet mill to maintain consistently insisted-upon quality.

The image shows the estate manager introducing coffee trees and the pruning process, with La Minita beans being bagged on the other side:

This year, La Minita's spice sweetness and berry fruit flavors remain! And the clean, diverse flavors generally maintain their consistent style, especially with more Tokyo WBC competition contestants using it as a blend bean, showing her charming diverse flavors through their various techniques - this is La Minita!

Here is the 2007 La Minita cupping report: (Oscar M0 roast level, roasted on Japanese Fuji 1kg roaster for 11 minutes)

Country: Costa Rica Region: Tarrazu Estate: La Minita

Harvest Period: February 2007

Varieties: caturra, old hibrido Processing: Washed fermentation, followed by sun drying then low-temperature drying

Grade: SHB Appearance/Defect count: Green 0d/350g

Dry Aroma: Similar to elegant perfume scent, high mountain tea aroma, candy sweetness, berry fruit sour aroma with apple flavor, grape, clean and elegant aroma

Wet Aroma: Multiple berry fruit aromas, caramel aroma, cream, floral notes, slight spice notes

Slurping: Berry lime sour aroma, caramel aroma, good oily mouthfeel, elegant apple aroma in nasal cavity, sweet melon, tea aroma, pomelo sweet and sour, clean aftertaste with unique spice sweetness, mouthfeel of aftertaste is not astringent and quite saliva-inducing.

Price

Bulk discount price (description)

Costa Rica Tarrazu SHB Montanas del Diamante Estate

Share: facebook

Linking Coffee, which specializes in importing and selling green coffee beans from various countries, added a new Costa Rica Tarrazu region Diamante Mountain estate to their April price list, marked as grown at 1,800 meters altitude high mountain strictly hard beans. Although packed in burlap bags, there are multiple inner plastic bags (GrainPro Bag), suggesting quality should be at a certain level, and the price is affordable, so let's start with a 5kg small package for roasting.

Meanwhile, information about Costa Rica Diamante Mountain found online is as follows:

ORIGIN: Costa Rica

REGION: Tarrazu

SUBREGION: Dota Valley

PRODUCER: Montanas Del Diamante Estate/Gutierrez Family

PLANT SPECIES: Arabica

PROCESSING METHOD: Washed

PROCESSING DESCRIPTION: The coffee is fully washed and patio dried.

WET MILL NAME: Montanas del Diamante Mill

COFFEE GRADE: SHB EP

SCREEN SIZE: 15 Up

GROWING ALTITUDE: 1750-1850m

ANNUAL RAINFALL (MM): 250

SOIL TYPE: Volcanic

PLANT VARIETAL(S): Red Catuai

TYPES: Estate Coffees, Grain Pro/Ecotact

Other websites also mention that most varieties grown here are Red Catuai, which is a hybrid of Caturra and Mundo Novo. The beans from this batch are not very large, about 15 screen size. I wonder if this is a characteristic of this variety?

This time, it wasn't roasted very light. The roast level was about 3 minutes after the first crack began before letting it finish, so the overall acidity is much milder. The aroma isn't very prominent, which can be detected from the green beans, but the mouthfeel cleanliness is quite satisfying. The smooth citrus acidity should be acceptable even to friends who don't usually drink acidic coffee. The brown sugar honey sweetness and cocoa flavors in the aftertaste linger for a long time before dissipating in the mouth.

In recent years, Costa Rica hasn't disappointed anyone. The cost-performance ratio far surpasses Guatemala. Whether made as single-origin or used in blend recipes, they're both excellent choices.

Linking Coffee│facebook

Contact Phone: 02-23583032

Linking Coffee, Costa Rica, Tarrazu region, Diamante Mountain Estate, Costa Rica Tarrazu, Montanas del Diamante Estate, coffee beans, green beans, Linking Coffee, Costa Rica Diamante Mountain

Have you ever wondered what coffee honey processing is? (This article only discusses red honey processing). Is it better tasting than other processed coffees you're used to drinking?

This article explores what honey processing is, what characteristics honey processing has, and what different meanings honey processing has for baristas and roasters.

Why is it Called Honey Processing?

The main coffee processing methods are divided into three categories: natural, washed, and honey. Natural processing involves directly drying coffee cherries before removing the outer shell and mucilage layer. Washed processing removes coffee pulp before drying and uses fermentation to remove the mucilage layer. Honey processing is between natural and washed processing: after removing coffee pulp, the mucilage layer is retained and dried directly.

Then you might ask, where's the honey?

The term "honey processing" makes many people think this processing method uses honey to treat coffee, or that this processed coffee tastes as sweet as honey, but in fact, neither explanation is correct. The meaning of honey processing comes from the very sticky mucilage layer of coffee beans before drying, with a sticky feeling like honey. When coffee pulp separates from coffee beans, the surrounding mucilage layer becomes sticky after drying as it absorbs moisture from the air.

When coffee pulp is removed, a mucilage layer remains around the coffee beans.

Why is Honey Processing Popular Among Coffee Farmers?

Honey processing started when someone saw that this processing method could continuously improve their coffee bean quality, originating in Costa Rica, and this processing method is now trending.

So why did Costa Rican coffee farmers initially intend to use honey processing? When coffee farmers want to improve their coffee quality or price, they have three choices: change coffee tree species, change growing altitude, or change processing method. Like most people brewing coffee who want to use simpler methods like adjusting grind settings and dose, only then adjusting coffee machine water volume, pressure, and temperature; most coffee farmers also want to change processing methods first before considering planting new tree species or moving estates - approaches that require investment of time and money.

Honey Processing is Time-Consuming and Technique-Intensive

Honey processing is not simple; processing requires long hours and must be handled carefully. So what steps does honey processing include?

First, coffee farmers must select ripe coffee cherries from coffee trees, then remove the outer pulp, retaining the mucilage layer around the coffee beans as mentioned earlier. The mucilage layer retains high proportions of sugars and acids, and these sweetness and acidity are the key to honey processing.

The following step is the most complex and technique-intensive part of honey processing: drying. Timing must be well-managed, duration is key. If drying time is too short, the mucilage layer's substances cannot transfer into the coffee beans, and time cannot be too long. Action must be quick to avoid internal fermentation of beans becoming moldy.

So how to achieve balance? Place beans on sun-drying racks or cement floors. For the first few days, beans must be turned several times every hour until reaching the required moisture content. This step usually takes 6-10 hours. For the next 6-8 days, beans need to be turned at least once daily. Very time-consuming, right? The reason honey processing sun drying is so time-consuming is that every night, beans absorb moisture from the air, requiring more time for drying the next day.

When coffee drying is complete, it's similar to other processing methods and ready for drying processing and roasting.

Honey processed coffee beans drying on cement floors

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473