Costa Rica Central Valley San Jose | Finca Dona Daisy Geisha Honey Process Flavor Profile

Costa Rica Central Valley San Jose | The Flavor Profile of Dona Daisy Farm's Geisha Red Honey Process

Finca Dona Daisy is located in San Jose, Costa Rica's Central Valley growing region, at an altitude of 1,700 meters. It is co-owned by the husband-and-wife team Pepe and Daisy Fallas, who live on the farm with their two children and grandchildren. When Pepe sent the green beans he produced to the ASOPROAAA cooperative, he discovered that the coffee was of excellent quality. From that moment on, Pepe decided to keep producing coffee and to expand the farm's growing areas. In addition to the original Catuai variety, he added Geisha and Kenya SL28. Through cooperation with ASOPROAAA, he also received assistance in technology, finance, and trade.

Finca Dona Daisy first appeared on Has Bean's bean list last year, marking the first batch of green beans officially sold by the farm. Has Bean greatly appreciates their coffee, and this year it has appeared on Has Bean's list once again. Notably, this Geisha undergoes honey processing, which is quite rare for the variety. It features a sweetness that combines lime and white sugar, delicate floral aromas, and citrus and orange flavours.

Costa Rica's Coffee Heritage

Costa Rica is one of the first Central American countries where coffee cultivation was introduced, and the government places great importance on developing the local coffee industry, enacting strict environmental protection regulations to preserve precious ecosystems. Today Costa Rica has over 50,000 coffee farmers. Since the coffee industry began developing in 1779, years of innovation have given the country a complete industrial system and world-class coffee.

Costa Rica's volcanic soil is extremely fertile and drains well. Climatically, it is influenced by the Pacific and Atlantic ocean currents and sea breezes, creating distinctive microclimate and terroir conditions. Coffee trees can grow slowly in the fertile volcanic-ash soil and the cool high-altitude environment, nurturing beans with complete, rich flavours. Costa Rica has seven main coffee-growing regions, among which the Western Valley, Central Valley, and Tarrazu have the best quality and the longest history, long recognised by coffee enthusiasts worldwide. Costa Rica's renowned Western Valley, with its significant temperature variation and fertile soil, is exceptionally well suited to coffee.

Coffee Details

Variety: Geisha

Origin: San Jose, Central Valley

Farm: Finca Dona Daisy

Farm Owners: Pepe and Daisy Fallas

Altitude: 1700 meters

Processing Method: Red Honey

Flavor Profile: Floral notes, lime, white sugar, citrus, orange

FrontStreet Coffee Recommended Brewing:

Dripper: Hario V60

Water Temperature: 90°C

Grind Size: Fuji Royal grinder setting 3.5

Brewing Method: 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio, 15 g of coffee grounds. First pour: 25 g of water for a 25-second bloom. Second pour: keep pouring until reaching 120 g, then stop. Wait until the water level in the coffee bed drops to halfway, then slowly pour again until reaching 225 g total. Extraction time approximately 2:00 minutes.

Analysis:

This three-stage brewing method clearly separates the front, middle, and back-end flavours of the coffee. Because the V60 has many ribs and drains faster, stopping the water flow during pouring can extend the extraction time, producing a more balanced and flavourful cup.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

A honey-processed Geisha is unusual, and it is exactly the combination FrontStreet Coffee's Strawberry Candy was built around: the blend pairs a Costa Rican honey process with a Panama Geisha, roasted medium, for orange-blossom honey, layered florals, and a rounded sweetness that echoes the lime-and-white-sugar character of this Dona Daisy lot. If you want to taste the variety at its purest, FrontStreet Coffee's Emerald Manor Red Label Geisha (Esmeralda Special), grown at 1,600–1,800 m with each lot cupping above 90 points, is the benchmark against which any Geisha is measured. For an approachable Panama Geisha with the same perfumed, honeyed profile, FrontStreet Coffee's Boquete Geisha shows orange-blossom honey, an oolong-tea body, and fine fruit acidity in clearly defined layers.