Costa Rica Western Valley | Laura/Elsita Processing Plant Helsar White Honey Caturra Flavor?

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Costa Rica West Valley | Helsar Mill White Honey Caturra Flavor Profile

Helsar Mill is considered one of the earliest micro-mills introduced to Taiwan since the wave of micro-mill revolution began in Costa Rica, appearing on the market as early as 2007. It stands alongside pioneers of the first wave of micro-mill reform such as Herbazu, Brumas, and La Hacas. The mill owner, Ricardo Pérez Barrantes, has been growing coffee in Costa Rica for over 40 years and is an experienced coffee producer dedicated to innovation in processing methods. From early washed processing to honey processing in recent years, he has demonstrated outstanding performance. In the early days, like other small farmers, harvested coffee cherries were delivered to medium and large mills for production. Such high-quality green coffee beans were mixed with other general batches for export, leaving farmers with minimal profits in the industrial chain. This not only failed to incentivize farmers to pursue better green bean quality but also couldn't improve farmers' living standards.

In view of this, in 2004, the Ricardo family joined the micro-mill revolution and established Helsar Mill. Initially, it mainly processed green coffee beans from their own Santa Lucia Estate in collaboration with his brother Marvin and Felipe Rodriguez. However, in recent years, it has also begun handling high-quality coffee cherries produced by small farmers from micro-regions such as Lourdes de Naranjo and Llano Bonito de Naranjo in the West Valley. In recent years, it has received high praise in the international coffee market and achieved considerable award records.

Costa Rica is a model producing country for specialty coffee and micro-batch coffee. More than a decade ago, many coffee farmers began establishing their own micro-mills; through continuous annual improvement of their coffee bean quality, they maintained distinction from general commercial bulk beans, enabling them to obtain better prices in the market and provide more excellent green coffee beans. Helsar Mill is a standard medium-sized mill in Costa Rica, not only serving as a model for local mills but also achieving remarkable success in international markets over the years. In 2007, it received a high evaluation of 91.37 points in the Cup of Excellence (CoE), gaining recognition with third-place honors that year. In 2010, the internationally renowned coffee rating Coffee Review awarded 92 points for three consecutive months in August, September, and October. In 2011, it won the Canadian Coffee Masters Championship with 651 points, and the following year represented the country in the Vienna World Competition, once again proving the extraordinary value of green coffee beans produced by Helsar Mill.

Coffee Information

Region: West Valley

Producer: Rola Estate

Mill: Helsar

Altitude: 1700m

Variety: Caturra

Processing: White Honey

Flavor Notes: Floral, white wine, citrus gummy candy, delicate and bright, light and lively acidity

FrontStreet Coffee Recommended Brewing:

Dripper: Hario V60

Water Temperature: 90°C

Grind Size: Fuji Royal grinder setting 3.5

Brewing Method: Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, 15g coffee grounds. First pour 25g water, bloom for 25 seconds. Second pour to 120g, pause and wait until the water level drops to half, then continue slow pouring until reaching 225g total. Extraction time approximately 2:00.

Analysis: Using a three-stage brewing method to clearly distinguish the front, middle, and back-end flavors of the coffee. Because V60 has many ribs and faster drainage, pausing during pouring helps extend the extraction time.

Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473