Characteristics of Costa Rican Green Coffee Beans and Introduction to Costa Rican Black Honey Flavor

Introduction to FrontStreet Coffee's Costa Rica Giant Stone Black Honey

High-quality Costa Rican coffee is graded as "Strictly Hard Bean" (SHB), grown at altitudes above 1,500 meters. Generally, the higher the altitude, the better the beans - not only because elevation increases acidity and enhances flavor, but also because cooler nighttime temperatures slow tree growth, concentrating flavor in the beans. The altitude variations also bring abundant rainfall, which is very beneficial for coffee trees.

S.H.B. refers to Strictly Hard Beans grown above 1,500 meters and signifies top-quality Costa Rican coffee. Suited to medium roasting, these dense beans offer strong acidity and captivating aromas. Costa Rican SHB coffee typically features full-bodied beans, clear flavors, bright acidity, and ideal viscosity.

Honey processing first appeared in Costa Rica, in Central America - largely because some high-altitude areas there lack water resources. After pulping, the coffee is sun-dried together with its mucilage.

The pectin mucilage is the sweetest part of the coffee fruit and a key driver of processing fermentation - it supplies roughly 80% of the nutrients during drying. White honey retains about 30% of the pectin, yellow honey about 60%, red honey about 75%, while black honey retains almost all of it.

"Giant Stone Black Honey" is composed of Caturra and Catuai. The green beans are uniform and full, with a sweet peach aroma and a light fermented fruitiness on the nose.

Pour-over Brewing

Parameters & Technique: Dose: 15 g; Grind size: medium-fine, like coarse sugar (VARIO at setting 5O: 57% pass rate on the #20 standard sieve); Water temperature: 90°C; Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15.

Bloom with 30 g of water for 30 seconds. Pour in segments to about 120 g. When the water level drops and the coffee bed is about to be exposed, continue pouring to 226 g. When the level drops again, remove the dripper.

Wet, the Giant Stone Black Honey releases a rich fermented aroma and strawberry fragrance. The first sip brings strawberry jam, berries, and blackcurrant, moving into hazelnut and cream in the middle, and finishing with caramel sweetness.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If black honey is your style, FrontStreet Coffee's Costa Rica Blackberry is a natural next step: a high-altitude Costa Rican lot with nearly all its mucilage retained, dried for at least 2 weeks under shade and roasted medium-light for sweet florals, grape, orange, and liqueur-chocolate notes. For another expression of Costa Rican sweetness, the FrontStreet Mozart - raisin honey processed with 100% of its pectin - offers osmanthus, pineapple, and raisin aromas in every brew method from pour-over to moka pot.