Central America Costa Rica Pirón Processing Plant Sun-Dried Caturra Costa Rica Coffee Flavor Description

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Coffee is sweet, yes, and it can be exceptionally sweet - FrontStreet Coffee is referring to Costa Rican coffee. As the world's premier producer of honey-processed coffee, the honey process is like Costa Rica's national treasure. When you visit, nothing beats starting with a cup of honey-processed coffee - it's so sweet it touches your heart and soul!

Costa Rica is located in the Central American isthmus, influenced by the climatic regulation of Pacific and Atlantic ocean currents and sea breezes. Within its borders are many towering volcanoes reaching 2,000 meters in altitude. Coffee cherries grow slowly in the fertile volcanic ash soil and cool high-altitude environment, cultivating coffee beans with complete and rich flavors.

Costa Rica's Eight Major Coffee Regions

West Valley, Central Valley, Tarrazu, Tres Rios, Orosi, Brunca, Turrialba, and Guanacaste. Tarrazu is one of the main coffee-producing areas here.

Tarrazu is located in the fertile volcanic region of Central America, featuring a humid climate and fertile volcanic rock soil. With abundant rainfall throughout the year, high altitude, and dense forests providing natural shade, it offers an exceptional growing environment for coffee. Nearly 95% of coffee beans produced in the high mountains of Tarrazu are Strictly Hard Beans (SHB), typically grown at altitudes above 1,500 meters.

Coffee beans produced in Costa Rica's high-altitude regions are world-renowned for being rich, mild in flavor, yet highly acidic. The coffee beans here are meticulously processed, which is precisely why they achieve such high quality. Tarrazu is located south of Costa Rica's capital, San José, and is one of the country's valued coffee-growing regions. Tarrazu is one of the world's major coffee-producing areas.

Pilon Processing Plant

The Pilon Processing Plant is located in Costa Rica's famous Tarrazu region, situated on the border of Leon Cortez town, owned by Edgar Urena and Efrain Mendez. Pilon is Costa Rica's first government-approved fully natural processing facility, featuring a rare natural sun-drying method. This batch of coffee exhibits rich nutty chocolate and tropical honey apple aromas, showcasing excellent natural flavors. Costa Rica has traditionally been proud of its washed coffees, uniformly hand-picking ripe red cherries and strictly controlling the entire processing process, until the honey processing method that swept the coffee world became a target pursued by various countries.

Geographical Environment:

At an altitude of 1,700 meters, coffee is dried on raised African beds. The sun-drying process is labor-intensive and time-consuming, utilizing "28 days of slow sun drying." Coffee beans are turned daily to ensure even sun exposure and prevent mold. Their coffee possesses a clean and abundant sweetness with fruit flavors.

Costa Rica Coffee Bean Hardness Grading

Variety: Caturra

Caturra is a mutation of Bourbon, discovered in Brazil in 1937. It offers better yield and disease resistance than Bourbon, with shorter plants that facilitate harvesting. Unfortunately, like Bourbon, it suffers from biennial production cycles.

Natural Processing Method

Due to the altitude of 1,700 meters, coffee is dried on raised African beds. The sun-drying process is labor-intensive and time-consuming, utilizing "28 days of slow sun drying." Coffee beans are turned daily to ensure even sun exposure and prevent mold, while also allowing their coffee to develop a clean and abundant sweetness with fruit flavors.

FrontStreet Coffee Roasting Suggestions

The green beans appear yellowish-green, typical of natural processed beans, with an intense aroma of ripe fruits and fermented fruit notes.

Since this bean belongs to the SHB (Strictly Hard Bean) category, with hard bean density and medium moisture content, FrontStreet Coffee's roaster decided to start at 200°C. The yellowing point occurred at 5 minutes 15 seconds, entering first crack at 8 minutes 30 seconds, with a 2-minute development after first crack before removal.

FrontStreet Coffee Cupping Report

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Parameters

Filter: V60

Water Temperature: 90-92°C

Grind Size: BG#5R

Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Method

Technique: Use 15g of coffee with 31g of water for a 30-second bloom. When injecting water to 124g, perform a segmented pour. When the water level drops to about to expose the coffee bed, use a large water flow to inject to 226g to finish. Total brewing time: 1'45". This bean is flavor-explosive, suitable for high-temperature quick brewing, discarding the final portion to avoid over-extraction bitterness.

Flavor Description

The aroma is rich with red wine fermentation notes. The flavor profile includes nectarine, berries, orange, and red berries, with distinct red wine aftertaste and a light sugarcane sweetness in the finish.