Costa Rica Fire Phoenix Estate Sapphire Coffee Brewing Recommendations_Sapphire Zahiro Processing Method

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Sweet, sweet, I drink it sweetly. When you ask about the sweetest-tasting coffee sold by FrontStreet Coffee, it must be Costa Rica's honey-processed coffee! As the world's best coffee-producing country for honey processing techniques, Costa Rica dares to say they are second to none. Although honey processing is the main method, Costa Rica also has other processing methods for coffee, like the one we're discussing today - the Finca Phoenix Fire Estate.

Costa Rica is located in the Central American isthmus, regulated by the climate effects of Pacific and Atlantic ocean currents and sea breezes. The country has many towering volcanoes reaching 2,000 meters in altitude, with fertile volcanic ash, mild and suitable temperatures, and stable, abundant rainfall - all factors contributing to coffee becoming one of Costa Rica's main agricultural products.

Estate Introduction

Finca Phoenix Fire Estate is located in the rolling hills of Poas volcano's fertile soil in Costa Rica's Central Valley coffee region. It is one of the earliest producers in Central and South America to start producing honey-processed and sun-dried coffee. This is a completely 100% organically cultivated coffee estate. The estate owner believes that organic farming practices are better choices for environmental protection and family health, despite facing many technical and organizational challenges, they still insist on this philosophy. The high-quality coffee produced by this estate is very unique, with the biggest characteristic being its amazing sweetness! It gained fame when participating in the 2009 Specialty Coffee Competition. During the harvest season, they use methods often employed in the wine industry, focusing on achieving amazing sweetness!

Finca Phoenix Fire Estate is located in the Central Valley coffee region, which is Costa Rica's earliest coffee-growing area. With moderate rainfall and an average annual temperature of only 19°C, plus high altitude, the beans are hard, aromatic, smooth, with high acidity, full body, and rich flavor. Finca Phoenix Fire Estate is located in the rolling hills of Poas volcano in the Central Valley. It is one of the earliest coffee estates in Central and South America to conduct honey processing and sun-dried coffee production. The cultivation method uses organic farming, which can protect environmental balance and family health - this is the estate owner's philosophy.

It gained fame when participating in the 2009 Specialty Coffee Competition. During the harvest season, they use methods frequently employed in the wine industry - only cherries with over 20% sugar content are selected for sun-drying. The Brix values of general fruits: apples are 14, lemons 12, passion fruit 18, but Finca Phoenix Fire's coffee cherries can reach 21-22%. The estate places great emphasis on environmental protection concepts (example: collecting rainwater to process coffee) and uses vermicomposting (worm composting) organic fertilizer production methods, making the cultivation process completely free of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

Natural Processing Method

This Zahiro (Sapphire) coffee bean uses the natural processing method. The natural processing method is the oldest and most original processing method for coffee beans. The harvested coffee fruits are directly dried until reaching 12% moisture content, then the fruit skin and pulp are removed. Beans processed through the natural method show distinct acidity and sweetness.

Zahiro and Black Rose are two quite special natural products. They use special processing methods that extend the drying time of Zahiro and Black Rose on raised beds, but with differences: Zahiro is dried and fermented in low-temperature environments, while Black Rose is dried and fermented in high-temperature environments. After fermentation in these different temperature environments, Zahiro produces more obvious delicate flavors and sweetness, while Black Rose presents rich and intense natural processing characteristics.

Zahiro's Unique Processing

The natural processing of Zahiro is quite labor-intensive. Hand-picked high-sugar cherries are first placed on African raised beds for sun-drying for about 10 days, then moved to a greenhouse covered with plastic sheeting to create more direct heat energy and continue drying until reaching 11.5% moisture content.

The slow drying process allows the green beans to develop more natural sweetness from within, but it also requires more careful attention and constant turning. In the end, the bright red cherries turn black, emitting aromas of fruit cake, brown sugar, and even sherry!

Zahiro's natural processing is quite labor-intensive. Hand-picked high-sugar cherries are first placed on African raised beds for sun-drying for about 10 days, then moved to a greenhouse covered with plastic sheeting to create more direct heat energy and continue drying until reaching 11.5% moisture content. The slow drying process allows the green beans to develop more natural sweetness from within, but it also requires more careful attention and constant turning. In the end, the bright red cherries turn black, emitting aromas of fruit cake, brown sugar, and even sherry!

Coffee Details

Costa Rica Central Valley Cumbres del Poas

Costa Rica Coffee Beans - Finca Phoenix Fire Estate - Zahiro

Country: Costa Rica

Region: Central Valley Cumbres - Finca Phoenix Fire Estate

Altitude: 1300-1500 meters

Varieties: Catuai / Caturra

Processing: Natural Process

FrontStreet Coffee Roasting Recommendations

To preserve the rich fruit flavors and sweetness of Costa Rica's Finca Phoenix Fire Zahiro, FrontStreet Coffee's barista uses a medium roast approach.

FrontStreet Coffee's Finca Phoenix Fire Estate Zahiro Coffee Beans

Roasting Machine: Yangjia 800N (batch size 300 grams)

Charge Temperature: 170°C

Yellowing Point: 5'40'' at 151.6°C

First Crack: 9'00'' at 183.9°C

Development after First Crack: 2'05'' to 195°C

FrontStreet Coffee Roasting Curve

Brewing with Different Equipment

Brewing parameters are kept as consistent as possible: 15g coffee, medium-fine grind (BG 6K, 80% pass-through on China standard #20 sieve), water temperature 90°C, coffee-to-water ratio 1:15

In terms of brewing technique, all use segmented extraction methods: 30g water for bloom for 30 seconds, then small water flow circular pouring to 125g, then segmented. When the water level drops to about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring to 225g and stop. (Timing starts from bloom) Extraction time is 2 minutes.

Diamond Dripper

The Diamond dripper's design features diamond-cut facets with a conical shape and large central hole. The diamond-patterned ridges allow for more even flow; the large central hole design increases flow rate, compensating to some extent for extraction unevenness. Additionally, the Diamond dripper has strong fit with filter paper and multiple exhaust paths, making the water flow faster, which better expresses the obvious floral aromas and layered qualities of this coffee.

Flavor: Overall floral aromas and sweetness are prominent. Entry shows berry, tropical fruits, honey, with cocoa and brown sugar notes emerging in the finish. Clean and sweet mouthfeel.

Kalita Wave Dripper

The Kalita Wave dripper, also known as the "fan-shaped dripper" or "trapezoid dripper." The Kalita Wave dripper has many ribs on its cup wall, distributed in straight lines with consistent spacing, increasing the gap between filter paper and dripper, improving water flow speed. The Kalita Wave dripper's bottom is flat with small holes, resulting in slower flow, creating an immersion effect.

Flavor: Overall floral and fermented wine aromas are prominent. Entry shows osmanthus fragrance, tropical fruits with berries in the finish. Smooth and full mouthfeel with persistent sweet aftertaste.

Hario V60

The Hario V60 dripper's bottom features a large water outlet hole, with curved spiral-structured ribs inside, extending from bottom to top. This makes the coffee flow relatively fast, but the curved ribs slow down the coffee liquid flow to some extent, increasing coffee ground extraction, better showcasing the bean's flavor layers and floral aromas.

Flavor: Overall floral aromas and sweet aftertaste are prominent. Entry shows strawberry, tropical fruits, fermented wine aromas, with honey and cocoa in the finish.

Wave Dripper

The Wave dripper, also called the Wave filter, has three holes at the bottom. The flat design allows even water flow, not as fast as conical drippers. The Wave dripper uses the filter paper's creases to replace flow channel grooves in its special design, not directly adhering to the dripper, reducing direct contact area between paper and dripper, creating maximum extraction area, helping with concentrated extraction. Hot water can drip down evenly and smoothly, making coffee extraction more successful; it also slows down the cooling rate.

Flavor: Overall mouthfeel is smooth and full. Entry shows strawberry, tropical fruits, mint, with honey, fermented aromas, and cocoa notes in the finish.

Among all the brewing equipment tested, the Diamond dripper or Hario V60 better highlight the floral aromas and berry characteristics of the Zahiro coffee beans, while the Wave dripper or Kalita Wave lean toward rich and balanced flavor presentation.

Important Notice :

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