Costa Rican Coffee - COE27 Don Mayo Estate Geisha Honey Process Introduction

FrontStreet Coffee - Costa Rica COE27 Don Mayo Estate Geisha Honey Process Introduction

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Coffee Details

Bean Name: Don Mayo Honey

Estate: Beneficio Don Mayo Processing Plant

Region: Tarrazu

Variety: Caturra

Processing Method: Honey Process

The Story of Don Mayo

Aiming to become a leader in Costa Rican coffee, the Don Mayo processing plant has a history of 15 years but is actually quite young—the family cooperative was established in 1994, but it wasn't until 2005 that they set up their own processing plant. The plant is located about five kilometers north of Tarrazu-San Marcos town, shouldering the responsibility of developing processing technology and executing post-harvest processing for ten affiliated coffee estates. Since these estates are distributed on mountain slopes at elevations ranging from 1500-1950 meters, all coffee produced by Don Mayo is SHB grade.

Costa Rican Coffee Traditions

Traditionally, Costa Rica has always taken pride in their washed coffee—uniformly hand-picking ripe red-purple berries and strictly controlling the soaking and fermentation process. The precise degree of fermentation provides an excellent balance between clarity and complexity in the coffee.

The Rise of Honey Processing

In recent years, this tradition has no longer dominated—more innovative "dry" processing methods have become trendy, with micro-processing plants emerging one after another. Since water consumption is only 5% of traditional washed processing plants and they don't require large water tanks and drying yards—these micro-processing plants can be located away from riverbanks. Meanwhile, the required investment is relatively much smaller, making it affordable for many independent estates or small cooperatives. More importantly, new processing methods combined with skilled and bold estate owners have created "honey processed coffee" with lower acidity, increased complexity, and rich, sweet aromas that have become highly sought after in the coffee industry in recent years. Among them, the outstanding ones have shined in major competitions in recent years, greatly enhancing the international reputation of various estates—such as: Brumas, Herbazu, Helsar, Las Lajas, Don Mayo, Montes de Oro...

Flavor Profile

Since the characteristics of honey processed coffee depend to a large extent on the settings of the pulp remover—the more pulp retained, the more obvious the honey processing characteristics. This Don Mayo Honey Process Geisha will have distinct jasmine, lemon, peach, caramel, green apple, and marzipan flavors in terms of taste and mouthfeel, with complex acidity of lactic acid and citric acid, a creamy texture, and a round, full body.

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