Costa Rica El Centro Estate | Red Catuai | Red Honey Process | Brumas Micro-Mill

Costa Rica Central Valley Brumas El Centro Villa Sarchi Red Honey

A Costa Rican coffee from the Central Valley: El Centro estate, Villa Sarchi variety, processed as red honey at the Brumas micro-mill.

The Brumas micro-processing plant, nicknamed the "Honey King," is a name almost universally recognized in Taiwan's specialty coffee industry. It won the Cup of Excellence championship in 2012. This is the Honey King you must taste every year, and it should not be missed.

Origin Details

• Country: Costa Rica
• Region: Central Valley (West Valley), San Isidro micro-region
• Location: San Francisco, San Isidro, Heredia, Costa Rica
• Micro-Processing Plant: Brumas del Zurqui
• Estate Owner: Alvarado Rodriguez
• Established: 2002
• Altitude: 1,600 m
• Cultivar: Red Catuai (this batch)
• Processing Method: Red Honey Process

Flavor Profile

Highland pear, ripe orange, floral notes and roasted walnut, with an elegant yet lively acidity and a brown sugar aftertaste.

The Brumas Story

Brumas del Zurqui, which won the Costa Rica National Coffee Competition championship in 2006, means "a valley full of clouds and mist" in the local language.

Estate owner Juan Ramon Alvarado holds an agricultural degree from EARTH University and, together with his wife Natalia, represents the fourth generation of coffee farmers. They established the Brumas micro-processing plant in 2004 and produce roughly 750 bags of coffee a year.

Juan Ramon uses a Brix meter to measure sugar content and determine the optimal harvest time for the cherries. According to his tests, the best balance between sweetness and acidity is reached when sugar content hits 15.5%.

Once the cherries are picked, the skin is removed first, and a pulper is used to control how much pulp is stripped away, leaving a certain amount of mucilage on the beans. Unlike traditional washed processing, the mucilage is not removed by fermentation. Instead, the beans are dried with the mucilage still intact, and the mucilage and parchment are removed directly afterwards.

Juan Ramon calls coffee made this way "Honey Coffee." The profile it delivers - lower acidity, greater complexity and a rich sweet aroma - comes from a stable, even and careful drying process. Sugars and alcohol compounds in the surrounding pectin migrate inward by diffusion, raising sweetness and building a fuller body, after which the beans finish drying on mesh beds.

This method uses only 5% of the water required by a traditional washed processing plant. It needs neither large washing tanks nor drying patios. The final flavour depends on how much pulp is retained, which puts the processor's skill and precision to the test.

There are risks along the way: too much pulp left on the bean can cause drying failures and mould, while uneven or overly fast drying can lead to over-fermentation. Even so, this emerging process has become popular across Central America in recent years and has performed strongly in coffee competitions.

Brewing Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee Pour-Over Technique Recommendations:

V60 dripper, medium-fine grind, water-to-coffee ratio 1:16, water temperature 89-91°C

Other Brewing Suggestions:

• French Press: Medium grind, water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, water temperature 88-90°C
• Siphon: Medium-fine grind, water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, water temperature 88-90°C

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If this red honey profile appeals to you, FrontStreet Coffee roasts several honey-processed coffees worth trying. FrontStreet Costa Rica Blackberry is a black honey coffee: almost no mucilage is removed, drying lasts at least two weeks under cover, and the beans are turned at intervals so the sugars convert evenly. Roasted medium-light, it shows ripe blackberry, grape and berry notes. FrontStreet Mozart goes further with a raisin honey process that keeps 100% of the mucilage, delivering osmanthus, pineapple and raisin aromas whether you brew it as pour-over, cold brew or in a moka pot. For a blend, FrontStreet Strawberry Candy pairs Panama Geisha with a raisin-honey Costa Rican coffee (100% mucilage, zero-water method), giving floral tea, grape and dried blueberry with soft fruit acidity and an almond finish.