Costa Rica Tarrazu Flavor | Tarrazu Coffee | Antique Estate Honey Processed Beans

Tarrazu Coffee | Honey Processed Beans from a Historic Estate

Property Characteristics

Farm: Rio Jorco Farm

Region: Cedral de Aserri, Tarrazu

Country: Costa Rica

Altitude: 1,200-1,800 meters

Annual Precipitation: 3,200 mm

Soil: Volcanic clay

Coffee Characteristics

Variety: Caturra, Catuai

Processing System: Honey process

Harvest Period: March - July

Appearance: 16-18 screen

Aroma/Flavor: Delicate cranberry aroma, mango fermentation notes, various berries, cherry

Acidity: Grapefruit acidity, cherry, orange, with a raw, unpolished acid edge

Complexity and Other: Mango-fermented fruit sweetness, balanced, with high oil content and good mouthfeel; low complexity but smooth, with a sweet melon fragrance in the aftertaste

Costa Rica produces the most stable quality coffee in Central America, with a very long production history - exports date back to the 19th century, when coffee was shipped to England. Robusta (used for canned coffee) is legally prohibited from cultivation in Costa Rica; only Arabica varieties are permitted. The regions producing the highest quality coffee are Tarrazu, West Valley, and Central Valley. In recent years, rising land costs have reduced coffee production and raised cultivation costs, making high-quality coffee harder to obtain.

Rio Jorco is currently managed by its third generation, who are highly focused on quality and on protecting natural forests. Their La Robles farm took third place in the SCAA 2012 Coffee Cupping Competition. Rio Jorco has complete facilities - a new wet mill and sun-drying fields - allowing quality control and optimization throughout processing. It's worth mentioning that for every bag of coffee sold, Rio Jorco donates one dollar to the Costa Rica Youth Orchestra; today more than 140 students aged 6-19 can participate in two orchestras for touring performances.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Honey processing evolved from the semi-dried (pulped natural) method: depulp the cherry first, then dry it - shortening the drying time while avoiding off-flavors from uncontrolled fermentation. FrontStreet's Brazil Cerrado is a classic semi-dried coffee with cream, peanut, nut, and chocolate notes. Costa Rica took note of Brazil's success, refined the method by controlling how much mucilage is kept and how long the drying lasts, and created the honey process - later splitting into black, red, yellow, and white honey grades.

FrontStreet's Costa Rica Blackberry uses the rare black honey process: almost no mucilage is removed, and drying lasts at least two weeks under cover to prevent over-fast drying, with regular turning to avoid uneven fermentation - demanding far more labor. Medium-light roasted, it smells of fresh flowers in the grinder and brews with grape, berry, and ripe blackberry flavors. FrontStreet's Mozart goes further with raisin honey processing: cherries are pre-dried on raised beds for at least three days with 100% of the mucilage retained - even harder to execute than black honey - bringing richer dried-fruit sweetness, with osmanthus, pineapple, and raisin notes in pour-over, cold brew, or moka pot.

For a Geisha character with Costa Rican sweetness, FrontStreet's Strawberry Candy blend pairs Panama Geisha - providing its classic orange-honey, tea-like florals - with raisin-honey-processed Costa Rica coffee (100% mucilage, zero-water processing). After at least three days on raised beds, the cherries are depulped and dried with constant turning. The result: floral-tea tones, grape and dried-blueberry fragrance, gentle fruit acidity, an almond finish, and pronounced sweetness.