Costa Rica Western Valley | Laura/Elsa Processing Mill Helsar White Honey Caturra Flavor?

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

Helsar Mill is considered one of the earliest micro-mills introduced to Taiwan since the micro-mill revolution began in Costa Rica, appearing on the market as early as 2007. It stands alongside other pioneers of the first wave of micro-mill reform such as Herbazu, Brumas, and Las Lajas. 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 exceptional performance.

Initially, like other small farmers, Ricardo delivered harvested coffee cherries to medium and large mills for processing. The high-quality green coffee beans were then mixed with other general batches for export, allowing farmers to receive only minimal profits in the industry chain. This not only failed to motivate farmers to pursue better green bean quality but also couldn't improve farmers' living standards. In response to this situation, in 2004, the Ricardo family joined the micro-mill revolution and established Helsar Mill. Initially, it mainly collaborated with his brother Marvin and Felipe Rodriguez to process coffee beans from their own Santa Lucia estate. However, in recent years, they have 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 Western Valley. These years have brought high recognition in the international coffee market and 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 continuously improving their coffee bean quality year after year, they maintained differentiation from general commercial bulk beans, enabling them to obtain better prices in the market and provide more exceptional green coffee beans.

Helsar Mill is a standard medium-sized mill in Costa Rica, not only a model for local mills but also with outstanding achievements in international markets over the years. In 2007, it received a high evaluation of 91.37 points in Cup of Excellence (CoE), gaining recognition with third place that year. In 2010, the renowned international coffee rating Coffee Review awarded 92 points for three consecutive months in August, September, and October. In 2011, it won the Canadian Barista Championship with 651 points, and the following year represented the country in the Vienna World Championships, once again proving the extraordinary value of coffee beans produced by Helsar Mill.

Coffee Information

Region: Western Valley

Grower: Rola Estate

Mill: Helsar

Altitude: 1700m

Variety: Caturra

Processing: White Honey

Flavor Description: Floral, white wine, citrus gummies, delicate and bright, light and lively acidity

FrontStreet Coffee Recommended Brewing:

Dripper: Hario V60

Water Temperature: 90°C

Grind Size: Fuji Royal R-440 #3.5

Brewing Method: Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, 15g coffee grounds. First pour 25g water for 25s bloom. Second pour to 120g then stop pouring. Wait until the water level in the coffee bed drops to half, then continue pouring slowly until reaching 225g total water. Extraction time approximately 2:00.

Analysis: Using a three-stage brewing method to clearly define the front, middle, and back-end flavors of the coffee. Because V60 has many ribs and drains quickly, stopping the pour can help extend the extraction time.

Important Notice :

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