Costa Rica Western Valley | San Rafael Micro-Mill Honey Process Caturra

Costa Rica Western Valley: Flavor Profiles of San Rafael Micro-Mill's Honey-Processed Caturra and Catuai

Costa Rica is renowned for producing the most stable and highest quality coffee in Central America. Coffee production has a very long history there, with exports to the UK dating back to the 19th century. In Costa Rica, the Robusta variety is legally prohibited from cultivation—only Arabica varieties are permitted. Common varieties include Caturra, Catuai, Villasarchi, Geisha, Bourbon, and Villalobos, making it one of the most diverse countries in terms of coffee varieties.

In recent years, the trend of honey-processed beans (Miel Process) originated in Costa Rica. Today, Costa Rica has developed a "micro-mill" revolution, the main philosophy being that every small Costa Rican farm should have its own dedicated processing facilities. This allows farmers to handle their coffee beans in the most suitable manner from harvest to processing and bagging, while also maintaining freshness and avoiding overripe defects through systematic arrangement. This approach achieves the highest possible quality.

The Monte Crisol brand specializes in producing coffee beans for American merchants and belongs to the CoopePalmares cooperative in the Western Valley. It is a well-functioning cooperative with approximately 1,350 members, all of whom share the benefits of coffee production, including medical and financial services. The coffee is grown under shade at temperatures of 23°C and rainfall of 1,800mm, with minimal water consumption and organic fertilizers used. It is certified with ISO9001/14001. This particular batch consists of honey-processed beans from their San Rafael farm.

Property Characteristics

Farm: San Rafael

City: Alajuela

Region: Western Valley

Country: Costa Rica

Altitude: 1,300-1,500 meters

Certification: Utzkapeh

Coffee Characteristics

Variety: Caturra, Catuai

Processing System: Honey Process (after harvesting, the pulp is immediately removed while retaining the mucilage layer, then dried on elevated bamboo racks at the drying field. After drying, the coffee beans with their film are removed by machine to obtain the coffee beans.)

Appearance: 17-18 screen

Grade: S.H.B (Strictly Hard Bean)

Top Jury Descriptions: Cupped at Cinnamon roast level (60 seconds after first crack begins)

Aroma/Flavor: Peanut, cardamom, spices, jasmine tea, mint

Acidity: Cherry, sweet persimmon, citrus, green apple

Complexity & Other: Lively and bright with high acidity, quick transition from acidic to sweet, stimulates salivation, with sweetness gradually emerging

Overall Style: Fruity sweetness, barley tea flavor, relatively high acidity

FrontStreet Coffee's Recommended Brewing Method

Dripper: Hario V60

Water Temperature: 90°C

Grind Size: Fuji Royal grinder setting 3.5

Brewing Technique: Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, using 15 g of coffee grounds. First pour 25 g of water and let it bloom for 25 seconds. Second pour up to 120 g and pause. Wait until the water level in the coffee bed drops to halfway, then continue pouring slowly until reaching 225 g. Total extraction time around 2:00.

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

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If the honey-processed sweetness and bright fruit acidity of this Costa Rican cup are what you are after, FrontStreet Coffee's most direct match is FrontStreet Strawberry Candy. It is a blend that combines a Costa Rica honey-processed coffee with Panama Geisha, so it carries both a fine floral aroma and sweet fruit, and one bag covers several brewing methods—pour-over, moka pot, espresso machine, and cold brew alike.

For a cold brew built on that same honey-processed character, FrontStreet suggests 30 g of FrontStreet Strawberry Candy ground to the texture of fine sugar (EK43s setting 9, or C40 setting 24 on a hand grinder), added to a clean vessel at a 1:12 ratio with 360 g of room-temperature water, stirred, sealed with plastic wrap, and refrigerated. After 8 hours, strain out all the grounds through filter paper, then seal the liquid and return it to the fridge for 3 hours to mature; the cup shows grape juice, rose, sweet orange, and fruit-wine notes.

To explore Geisha on its own, FrontStreet also offers FrontStreet Boquete Geisha as an affordable introduction and the FrontStreet Emerald Estate Red and Green Label Geishas at the top of the range, all brewed light with a V60 at around 91 degrees Celsius.