Costa Rica Single Origin Coffee Tarrazu Coffee Region Raisin Natural Processing

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Costa Rica Tarrazu Bahia: Wine, Strawberry and the Raisin Natural Process

In 2017, Bahia imported a total of 3 batches, and this one was the best of the three in bean quality. FrontStreet Coffee recommends this single-origin coffee.

Coffee Information

Coffee Region: Tarrazu

Annual Rainfall: 1300mm

Grade Standard: SHB

Coffee Variety: Yellow Catuai

Average Annual Temperature: 20°C

Processing Method: Raisin Natural Process

Green Bean Size: 14-17 screen

Cultivation Altitude: 1980m

Soil Type: Virgin red soil

Harvesting Method: Hand-picked

This year's Bahia retains its captivating wine aroma, with a honey-processing profile that leans toward natural-process characteristics. The processing method has been upgraded once again this year, and the result carries a rose-like floral note that is genuinely impressive.

Flavor Notes: Rose, Grape, Strawberry

Yellow Catuai comes from a cross between Mundo Novo and Caturra, first cultivated in 1949 by Brazil's Instituto Agronomico de Campinas (Campinas Agronomic Institute).

Like Red Catuai, Yellow Catuai shows extremely high disease resistance and suits cultivation at high altitudes and in windy areas. Both Catuai varieties carry very delicate, clean acidity. With machine adjustments, producers can turn them into red honey, yellow honey or black honey processed coffee, depending on the degree of honey processing.

Canet sits in the highest-altitude part of Costa Rica's Tarrazu coffee growing region. This is also the country's most intensive fruit-growing area, and plantation owners mainly grow passion fruit. Coffee is therefore quite scarce here, planted only in specific blocks that receive special care, and only fully ripe red cherries are harvested.

The Raisin Natural Process

The raisin natural process keeps 100% of the mucilage layer and uses no water at all. Its real difficulty lies in depending on favorable weather. On the day of harvest, the cherries are pulped, the mucilage is left intact and the beans are then dried. At this stage, climatic factors decide whether the process succeeds.

There must be ample sunlight to dry the surface of the bean to a shade slightly darker than red honey processing. This is the raisin natural process. The estate's distinctive Yellow Catuai, processed this way, is what is sold as Bahia.

The overall result is a rich variation of flavor and a full-bodied texture, combined with excellent cleanliness. The sweetness is outstanding, and the layers run from berry through to citrus fruit acidity.

Cupping Notes

Dry Fragrance:

Cherry, berries, plum, strawberry, peach, jasmine.

Wet Aroma:

Intensely expressive floral and fruit aromas, sweet and delicate: lemon, citrus and berries with a ripe, wine-like acidity and a pleasant floral fragrance.

Flavor:

A sweet, colorful array of fruit — strawberry, apple, lemon, grape, and citrus in many expressions — with unforgettable honey and toffee notes. The mouthfeel is silky and cream-like, closing with the long aftertaste of a premium Indian Darjeeling black tea.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation: A Brazilian Counterpart to Raisin Natural

If the raisin natural method above appeals to you, FrontStreet Coffee's Brazil Cerrado Red Bourbon is a natural next stop. This classic single-origin from the well-known Cerrado region is processed pulped natural and roasted medium, giving creamy peanut, toasted bread, caramel and hazelnut aromas with a round, low-acid body and a faint bitter edge. Prefer something fruitier and cleaner? The Queen's Farm Yellow Bourbon, grown on the fertile red volcanic soil of Mogiana, offers a rare yellow-bourbon profile with sugarcane sweetness, fruit and chocolate — easy to brew as pour over, moka pot or espresso.