What Variety is Lychee Blue Coffee Bean? What is the Flavor Profile of Lychee Blue Cold Brew?

Beyond the classic coffee flavors brought by traditional processing methods, continuous development and innovation in coffee have led to various changes in processing techniques. In the past, if someone told you coffee had a wine-like flavor, you would have found it unbelievable. But now, many people won't drink coffee without that wine character. Of course, FrontStreet Coffee doesn't necessarily advocate for this preference, as each coffee processing method has its unique characteristics, which is what makes the world of coffee so wonderfully diverse and beautiful.

The joy of coffee appreciation lies in tasting the different flavors brought by various processing methods. When it comes to wine-flavored coffee, none is more popular than Honduras's barrel-aged processing method. This processing technique imparts a unique wine aroma that made it explode in popularity throughout the coffee circle in 2019, with many people becoming captivated by the intoxicating world of wine fragrances. Besides processing Honduras's sherry barrels, there's another coffee worth trying: Honduras's Litchi Orchid. Today, FrontStreet Coffee will share the story behind this Honduras coffee bean with everyone—let's explore together!

Honduran Coffee

Honduras is a Central American country surrounded by renowned coffee-producing neighbors like Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Guatemala. The country's coffee isn't commonly seen, but in 2011, Honduras became the highest coffee-producing country in Central America. However, most of it is exported to Germany and the United States, with much also consumed domestically, which is why it's considered a niche coffee-producing country. Most of the country consists of mountains or plateaus with a tropical climate, while coastal areas have a tropical rainforest climate. In terms of coffee growing conditions, Honduras doesn't necessarily stand out among its neighboring coffee-producing countries. However, the country's coffee plantation area reaches up to 280,000 hectares, mainly consisting of small-scale coffee plantations that account for more than half of Honduras's coffee production.

Since most coffee is grown on mountainsides, conditions like high altitude, significant temperature variations, abundant rainfall, and sufficient sunlight all meet the requirements for coffee cultivation. However, machines cannot harvest the coffee, so all picking is done by hand, ensuring that only fully ripe coffee cherries are selected. The coffee cherries are then processed, which guarantees high-quality coffee and gradually opened doors for Honduran coffee in the global market.

Coffee Varieties

Honduran coffee cultivation focuses on Arabica varieties, including Bourbon, Caturra, Catuai, and Pacas. Litchi Orchid, however, uses the most common varieties in the country: Caturra and Catuai. Caturra was discovered in 1937 in Caturra, Brazil, and was named after the city. This variety's fruit yield and disease resistance are superior to Bourbon, while inheriting Bourbon's advantages of short plant height and easy harvesting. Catuai is a hybrid variety, crossed from Caturra and Mundo Novo. It has good disease resistance but slightly inferior flavor profile compared to Caturra.

Coffee Regions and Estates

This estate is named Moca Estate and is located in the Marcala region. The region is a municipality in Honduras's Intibucá department, situated south of the Jeses de Otoro valley. The region's altitude isn't particularly high, with an average elevation of around 800-1000 meters, though higher altitude areas reach 1500 meters. Moca Estate is a small estate within the Marcala region.

Brandy Barrel Fermentation

This special brandy barrel fermentation processing begins with selecting harvested coffee cherries, followed by washed processing. After that, the coffee beans are placed in brandy barrels for fermentation. The temperature inside the barrels is maintained at a low 15-20 degrees Celsius for approximately 30 days of fermentation. Once fermentation is complete, the final drying process is carried out. The coffee beans possess a very intense brandy aroma—rich, intoxicating, and powerfully explosive. In a medium-light roast state, it delivers rich brandy fragrance, liquor-filled chocolate, and honey aromas, with a mellow, smooth mouthfeel and a persistent aftertaste.

The above information represents FrontStreet Coffee's sharing of background details about Honduras and Litchi Orchid coffee, explaining why this particular bean has such an intense wine aroma. It's the product of barrel fermentation and definitely not artificially flavored as some outsiders might imagine. Now that the story is told, we move to the final brewing stage—with such an intensely aromatic coffee, wouldn't you like to have a cup?

FrontStreet Coffee: Honduras Moca Estate Litchi Orchid Coffee Beans
Region: Marcala
Varieties: Caturra, Catuai
Altitude: 1500 meters
Processing: Brandy Barrel Fermentation

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Parameters: Water temperature 91°C, 15g coffee grounds, 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio, medium-fine grind

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Method: Bloom with 30g of water for 30 seconds. Second pour to 120g for segmentation, wait for the water level to drop until the coffee bed is about to be exposed before pouring again. Third pour to 225g to stop brewing, wait for the coffee liquid to finish dripping before removing the filter cone. Extraction time is 2:00.

Flavor Profile: Brandy, liquor-filled chocolate, honey, cream, sweet and smooth taste, persistent aftertaste

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