Introduction to Costa Rica Blanca Rivass Processing Station Treasure Estate

Brunca Finca La Guaca

Origin: Costa Rica

Estate: Brunca Rivaseño Processing Station - La Guaca Estate

Award Record: 2015 COE Award-winning Estate

Variety: Catuai

Processing Method: Black Honey Process

Flavor Notes: Blackberry, sweet spices, honey, peach, round mouthfeel, rich sweet and sour sensation

Costa Rica

Costa Rica's coffee history spans more than 200 years and has played an indispensable part in the global story of coffee. Over the past decade the country has won worldwide attention through its micro-processing stations, creating a remarkable diversity of specialty coffees on the back of its unique terroir.

Coffee cultivation was introduced to Costa Rica from Cuba in 1729, with Caturra and Catuai as the main varieties. National law permits only Arabica varieties to be grown in the country, an extremely rare regulation among coffee-growing regions and a clear sign of the country's commitment to quality. Sitting on the volcanic belt, Costa Rica's fertile, well-drained volcanic ash soil supplies abundant nutrients for the trees. Costa Rican beans are graded by altitude, because higher ground gives cooler night temperatures, slower tree growth and therefore more intense flavour. The same variations in altitude also bring plentiful rainfall, another advantage for coffee growing.

Brunca Finca La Guaca

In 1990 Mr. Régulo Gerardo Ureña Chacón established La Guaca Estate in the beautiful Brunca region. The estate covers 10 hectares at roughly 1,600 metres above sea level, with 5 hectares given over to coffee and the other 5 kept as a conservation area. The estate preserves many native tree species and grows a great deal of fruit, which not only adds to its income but also helps birds and other animals survive. Owner Mr. Régulo believes that biodiversity brings sustainable development to the land and adds a natural complexity to the coffee.

The estate takes its name from "La Guaca," meaning "treasure," because local indigenous people are said to have buried a treasure here long ago that has never been found. The name carries both a sense of mystery and a cultural link to the area's heritage. The estate is owned by Mr. Régulo's family and runs its own "Rivaseño" micro-processing plant.

Before 2015, after each annual harvest, La Guaca struggled to find discerning buyers willing to pay a reasonable price for such excellent beans. Mr. Régulo remained undiscouraged, steadily improving his farming and processing while beginning to enter Costa Rica's Cup of Excellence competition. After passing the domestic preliminary round and coming close in the 2014 international judging, he finally achieved the excellent result of 33rd place in the 2015 COE.

FrontStreet Coffee's Recommended Brewing Method

Recommended Brewing Method: Pour-over

Dripper: V60

Grind Size: Medium-fine

Water Temperature: 90±1 degrees Celsius

Bloom: 30g water, bloom for 30 seconds

Pouring Stages: Pour to 120g, pause, then slowly pour to 225g (30-120-225g total)

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

A black honey Catuai like this one sits at the deep end of Costa Rica's honey-processing spectrum, so it is worth understanding the family it belongs to. Honey processing grew out of Brazil's semi-natural method, in which the skin is removed before drying, which shortens the drying time and avoids the off-flavours of poor fermentation. Costa Rica borrowed the idea and refined it by varying how much mucilage is left on the bean and how long it dries, giving rise to white, yellow, red and black honey processing. FrontStreet Coffee's Brazilian Cerrado is a classic semi-natural example, carrying clear cream, peanut, nut and chocolate notes.

At the darkest end of the honey scale, the FrontStreet Costa Rica Blackberry uses black honey processing, which removes almost none of the mucilage and dries for at least two weeks under cover to keep the sun from drying the beans too fast, ensuring the sugars convert fully and turning the beans regularly so they do not over-ferment. Roasted medium-light, it releases an intense floral aroma when ground and shows grape, berry and ripe blackberry in the cup. If you like the idea of honey processing paired with floral sweetness, the FrontStreet Strawberry Candy blend combines a Panama Geisha with a raisin honey-processed Costa Rican coffee that keeps 100% of the pectin and uses zero water; the cherries are floated to remove underripe and overripe fruit, dried on raised beds for at least three days before the skin is removed, then dried further with constant turning. The result offers Gesha's flower-tea character alongside grape and raisin notes, a soft fruit acidity and an almond finish.