Costa Rica Canet Estate Musicians Series – Chopin Special Report

Costa Rica Canet Estate Chopin

Region: Tarrazú

Variety: Yellow Catuai

Altitude: 1700m

Processing: Raisin Honey Processing

Region Introduction

Located on the Central American isthmus, Costa Rica is shaped by Pacific and Atlantic currents and sea winds that moderate its climate. The country has numerous towering volcanoes reaching altitudes of 2000 meters. Coffee cherries grow slowly in the fertile volcanic ash soil and the cool high-altitude environment, cultivating beans with complete, rich flavors.

Costa Rica's year divides into two seasons. The dry season runs from December to April and is the coffee harvest, while the wet, rainy season runs from May to November. In recent years many micro-processing mills have appeared. Because they need only 5% of the water consumed by traditional washed mills and do not require large water tanks and drying fields, the investment required is much smaller. Honey-processed coffee, with its low acidity, increased complexity and rich sweet aroma, has consequently become a competitive target in the coffee industry in recent years.

As early as two hundred years ago Costa Rica began growing coffee, first planted on the slopes of the Poas and Barva volcanoes, which we now call the Central Valley. Today Costa Rica has eight main producing regions: Western Valley, Central Valley, Tarrazú, Tres Rios, Orosi, Brunca, Turrialba and Guanacaste.

Tarrazú is one of the main coffee producing areas here. The region has a long history of coffee production and has earned the favor and recognition of the British royal family, and was even praised in a papal speech.

Canet Estate

Canet Estate is located in the highest-altitude part of the Tarrazú region and is the most intensive fruit-growing area in Costa Rica. It mainly grows passion fruit, and its coffee is quite rare: only one specific area is planted with coffee, under special care.

All coffee cherries are hand-picked, harvesting only ripe red cherries. After harvesting and before processing, they undergo another screening to remove beans that are not ripe enough or overripe.

Raisin Honey Processing Method

The raisin honey method is a type of double-fermentation honey processing. On the day the cherries are harvested they are poured into large water tanks. Mature, full fruits sink to the bottom, while underdeveloped or overripe fruits float to the surface, and these floating beans are removed. The selected fruits are placed on raised beds to dry into a raisin-like state, after which the pulp and skin are removed, preserving the mucilage before further drying. In flavor terms the fermentation aroma is more intense and the layers are richer and fuller, and the mucilage preservation is higher than in other honey methods. During drying the cherries must be turned constantly for even drying, but the turning frequency must be controlled so that drying stays slow enough for fermentation without becoming so slow that it over-ferments.

Variety (Yellow Catuai)

Yellow Catuai (Catuai Amarillo) comes from a hybrid of Mundo Novo and Caturra, first cultivated in 1949 by Brazil's Instituto Agronomico de Campinas. Like Red Catuai (Catuai Rojo), Yellow Catuai has extremely high disease resistance and suits cultivation at high altitudes and in windy areas. Both Catuai varieties have very delicate, clean acidity. In raw bean form they appear greenish, with a strong tea aroma and a slight fermented fragrance.

The Costa Rica Canet Musician Series includes Mozart, Beethoven and Bach coffees. This year the series added a new bean named Chopin. Unlike the other flavors, this Chopin has an obvious rose floral aroma and prominent sweetness.

Roasting Analysis

Roasting machine: Yangjia 800N semi-direct flame (roasting amount 300g)

Preheat the roaster to 180°C, set the heat to 130, open the damper to 3, and reach the return-to-temperature point at 1'36", maintaining heat; at 140°C keep the heat unchanged and open the damper to 4. At 5'20" the beans turn yellow, the grassy smell disappears and the dehydration stage begins. At 166°C reduce the heat to 110, keeping the damper at 4. At 176°C adjust the heat to 80 with the damper unchanged.

At 8'15" dehydration is complete, wrinkles and black spots appear on the bean surface, and the toast aroma shifts to coffee aroma as a prelude to first crack. At this point listen carefully for the sound of first crack. At 9'21" first crack begins, the damper is fully opened to 5 and the heat is unchanged. Development time after first crack is 2'05", and the beans are discharged at 195.2°C.

The Agtron bean color value is 70.3 (upper image), the Agtron ground color value is 78.3 (lower image), and the Roast Delta value is 8.

Cupping

Flavor: Rose, raisin, berries, fruit tea

Brewing Recommendations

For this bean, FrontStreet Coffee recommends the pour-over method:

Dripper: Hario V60

Water Temperature: 90-92°C

Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15

Grind Size: Medium-fine (BG6M: China standard #20 sieve, 58% pass rate)

Brewing Method: Segmented extraction

Use 30g of water for a 30-second bloom. When pouring in small circular motions to 125g, make the first break. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring to 228g and stop. Wait for the water level to drop and again approach the bed, then remove the dripper. (Timing starts from the bloom.) Extraction time is 1'56".

Flavor: Brewed at 92°C, this Chopin shows more obvious citrus acidity and tea sensation, with berries. As it cools slightly a rich fermented aroma appears, and the sweetness lingering on the palate is more persistent. Brewed at 90°C, the rose floral aroma is more prominent, with raisins and a tea sensation on entry. As it cools slightly there is fermented aroma, the mouthfeel is relatively smooth and the sweetness is more obvious.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If this raisin honey processing appeals to you, FrontStreet's Costa Rica Blackberry uses a distinctive black honey process in which almost none of the mucilage is removed; drying lasts at least 2 weeks under coverings so the sugar converts fully, with regular turning to prevent uneven heating and over-fermentation. Roasted medium-light, it grinds into an intense floral fragrance and brews into grape, berry and ripe blackberry flavors. FrontStreet's Strawberry Candy Geisha Blend, as its name suggests, pairs Panama Geisha with a Costa Rican coffee; the Geisha supplies the classic orange-blossom honey character, while the Costa Rican component is raisin honey processed with 100% mucilage retention and a zero-water method, dried on raised beds for at least three days with constant turning. The result carries both Geisha's floral tea character and the clean aromas of raisin and dried blueberry, with soft fruit acidity, an almond finish and clear sweetness. FrontStreet's Costa Rica Mozart takes the innovative raisin honey approach further: the cherries are pre-dried on raised beds for at least three days before the skin and pulp are removed and the honey steps completed, retaining 100% of the mucilage and demanding stricter time control than even black honey. It delivers rich, warm fruit sweetness with osmanthus, pineapple and raisin aromas, whether brewed as pour-over, cold brew or moka pot.