What's the difference between Red Wine Natural Process Caturra and Natural Process Caturra?

Costa Rica has many producing regions, and even beans from the same region can have different flavors.

West Valley: Costa Rica's Premium Coffee Region

The West Valley is one of Costa Rica's eight major coffee producing regions. The harvest period in West Valley runs from November to mid-March of the following year, making it one of the regions with longer harvest seasons. The coffee flavor features fruity aromas and nutty almond notes. West Valley beans don't have the bright acidity of Tarrazú region beans; their flavor is more subdued and stable. However, the flavor changes as the coffee cools are truly remarkable, with continuously evolving taste profiles. In terms of mouthfeel pursuit, it's not strikingly impressive but rather resembles a type that's "enduring to look at and pleasant to drink."

With rich volcanic soil, ample sunlight, an average annual relative humidity of 81%, abundant rainfall, and an average temperature of 21.5°C, this region supports lush crop growth and is ideal for cultivating high-altitude premium coffee. Additionally, the West Valley region experiences distinct wet and dry seasons. When the coffee harvest season begins, it enters the dry season, meaning the region has sufficient sunlight for sun-drying after washing. This advantage is rarely found in other regions of the country (most other famous Costa Rican regions use machine drying). Average cultivation altitude: 1,000 to 1,600 meters. However, due to more Pacific Ocean airflow, the West Valley is often cooler than other mountainous areas at higher altitudes. Therefore, the quality of coffee cherries and seeds is exceptionally excellent.

Today, let's compare two coffees from Costa Rica's West Valley region: the Red Wine Natural Caturra from [Aquilea Brothers Processing Plant] and the Natural Caturra from [Angel Estate]. What are the differences?

Different Altitudes:

[Aquilea Brothers Processing Plant] Altitude: 1600-1700 meters

[Angel Estate] Altitude: 1550 meters

Different Processing Methods:

[Aquilea Brothers Processing Plant] Processing Method: Red Wine Natural Fermentation. Coffee cherries are pulped and placed in stainless steel containers with controlled temperature and humidity, then sealed. After injecting carbon dioxide, the anaerobic environment slows down the decomposition of sugars in the mucilage, and the pH value decreases more slowly, meaning less ethanol acid is produced. At 22°C, dry fermentation can last for 3 days without producing astringent or vinegar-like flavors. At lower temperatures, this fermentation time becomes even longer. Finally, the beans are removed for sun-drying.

[Angel Estate] Processing Method: Traditional Natural Processing. Harvested coffee cherries are directly exposed to sunlight for about two to four weeks. This method is typically used in countries with distinct wet and dry seasons.

Different Green Beans:

[Aquilea Red Wine Natural] Variety: Caturra, with higher bean density, medium moisture content, and rich red wine fermentation aroma.

[Angel Estate] Variety: Catuai. These green coffee beans are plump, green with yellow undertones, with good uniformity and medium moisture content. They smell of fresh tropical fruits and light fermented wine aroma.

Different Roasting:

Even for beans from the same region with similar altitude and characteristics, we make minor adjustments to airflow and final temperature based on different processing methods, preserving the beans' unique characteristics while ensuring thorough roasting.

These two beans don't differ much in altitude and variety, so we use a gradual heat reduction and steady increase approach for roasting. During first crack, we fully open the damper to level 5, because as heating continues, water vapor and carbon dioxide from the Maillard reaction create significant pressure on the bean's cellular structure. When the pressure becomes too great, the coffee bean's cellular structure ruptures, and water vapor, carbon dioxide, and other substances burst from the bean, indicating the beginning of first crack and producing large amounts of smoke. At this point, we open the damper to maximum.

The flavor differences lie in the processing methods. Because [Aquilea Red Wine Natural] undergoes special processing with more sugar decomposition during fermentation, we use a lower final temperature to preserve the fermentation aroma and more fruit acidity. If the final temperature is too high, it would damage aromatic compounds and result in excessive bitterness. For [Angel Estate Natural], we emphasize its prominent caramel sweetness, so we use a final temperature 2 degrees higher than [Aquilea Red Wine Natural], allowing for longer development time and more balanced sweet and sour notes.

Different Cupping Flavors:

[Aquilea Red Wine Natural] Flavor: Rich red wine fermentation aroma, gentle berry acidity, nuts, roasted hazelnuts, with floral notes and a cool mouthfeel in the finish. When at room temperature, the red wine flavor becomes more pronounced, like drinking ginseng tea.

[Angel Estate Natural] Flavor: Subtle natural processed fruit aroma with honey and almond-like scents, rich floral notes. When sipped, it reveals the acidity of preserved plums, plums, and grapefruit, along with some nutty and chocolate flavors. It has a berry-like aftertaste with oolong tea sensations and a slight red wine aroma. Exceptionally clean with distinct sweet and sour notes.

Different Brewing Parameters (FrontStreet Coffee Reference Data):

[Aquilea Red Wine Natural], Dripper: V60, Water Temperature: 90-91°C (considering the roast is 2 degrees darker than Angel Estate)

Grind Size: BG 5R (Chinese standard 20-mesh screen, 64% pass rate), close to fine sugar size

30g water for bloom, bloom time 33s

Brewing Method: Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, 15g coffee grounds. First pour: 25g water for 25s bloom. Second pour: up to 120g water, then pause. Wait until the water level in the coffee bed drops to half, then slowly pour water until reaching 225g total. Extraction time around 2:05.

[Angel Estate Natural], Dripper: V60, Water Temperature: 91-92°C

V60 dripper, 15g coffee grounds, water temperature 90°C, grind size 3.5, water-to-coffee ratio 1:15

30g water for bloom, bloom time 28s

Pouring stages: Pour to 120g, pause, then slowly pour to 225g (30-120-225g)

Analysis: Using a three-stage brewing method to clearly define the front, middle, and back flavor profiles of the coffee. Because the V60 has many ribs and drains quickly, pausing during pouring helps extend the extraction time.

Costa Rican beans have recently become very popular due to their unique processing methods, resulting in flavor characteristics that are highly recognizable in coffee, showing everyone's love for distinctive flavors.

Costa Rican beans are particularly hard. Just adjust your grind to be finer, which increases the number of particles absorbing water and retains hot water longer, naturally increasing coffee concentration and making flavors more easily extractable.

Important Notice :

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Tel:020 38364473