Costa Rican Pour-Over Coffee Flavor Profile and Best Brewing Methods

Like many of us here at FrontStreet Coffee, when you think of sweeter coffee, two answers might immediately come to mind: natural process and honey process. To ensure our customers can regularly taste this renowned sweetness, FrontStreet Coffee's bean list always includes at least one honey-processed coffee. For instance, the recently launched Colombia · La Esperanza Geisha, which uses honey processing, features rich rose aromatics and exceptional sweetness, earning praise from many customers. This brings us to the question: why are honey-processed coffees so distinctly sweet? Is it because they actually add honey?

FrontStreet Coffee: Colombia · La Esperanza Geisha

Country: Colombia | Region: Cauca | Altitude: 1850m | Variety: Geisha | Processing: Honey Process | Flavor: Blackcurrant juice, blueberry, orange, Chinese plum, red wine

What is the "Honey" in Honey Process?

Honey Process, translated from the English "Honey Process" or "Miel Process," gets its "honey" from the word "Miel," which means honey in Spanish. The term "Honey Process" first emerged from Costa Rica, where locals liked to call the sticky, gelatinous layer inside the coffee fruit "Miel." This processing method, whose name already sounds sweet, originated from Brazil's Pulped Natural method, initially invented to save production water. Regarding how honey processing became popular in Costa Rica, FrontStreet Coffee found two key time periods.

In the second half of the 20th century, Costa Rica primarily produced washed coffee, pioneering coffee fruit depulping equipment and wet processing facilities, making them pioneers of modern washing techniques.

Between approximately 1997-2000, international coffee prices continued to decline. To obtain more income to sustain their livelihoods, many growers stopped selling coffee fruits directly to large processing stations and instead began selling their own products through self-production and self-marketing. As a result, farmers gained control over processing stations and naturally could experiment more. The depulping and drying process was introduced to production under these circumstances.

Honey processing first appeared in the public eye in 2006, when a farmer named Juan Ramón Alvarado won first and second place in the Costa Rica GOLDEN HARVEST green bean competition organized by SCAA with two honey-processed coffees. The following year, honey processing appeared in the first Costa Rica Cup of Excellence, where 3 out of the top 5 coffees were honey-processed.

By 2008, Costa Rica experienced a major earthquake that caused severe power outages and water shortages in many areas. To address these immediate problems, local farmers began adopting this "water-saving" process. Although many people initially resisted it, feeling that this processing method of drying with pulp and mucilage could easily lead to uncontrollable fermentation, many farms achieved positive results after experimenting, significantly reducing water consumption. Later, various honey processing methods were developed by controlling the degree of mucilage fermentation to extend different flavor expressions.

Color Variations in Honey Processing

In terms of naming, we often hear honey processes with colors like black honey, red honey, yellow honey, and white honey. This is because mucilage contains many sugars, so when green beans with only mucilage retained are exposed to air, oxidation occurs. The exterior of the beans gradually changes from the initial yellow-white to golden yellow. As fermentation progresses over time, the beans may turn deep red or even black-purple until drying is complete.

Theoretically, black honey or red honey coffees are closer to natural processing than yellow or white honey, with more apparent fermentation notes. However, even today, there is still no precise standard in the industry to define different colored honey processes, mostly depending on producers. This leads to naming confusion—for example, what one producer calls "red honey" might be called "yellow honey" by another.

Characteristics of Honey Processing

The drying time for honey processing falls between natural and washed processes, ranging from 2 to 4 weeks. Similarly, flavors often trend between natural and washed processes, mostly leaning toward the natural processing character, possessing dried fruit-like sweetness while frequently accompanied by solid, bright acidity. Compared to washed processing, honey processing can reduce freshwater usage by about 40% and avoids defect flavors caused by prolonged exposure to direct sunlight.

Coffees processed using honey methods generally present full, delicate fruity acidity and refined, complex floral aromatics in cupping, with an overall fresh and clean mouthfeel. With these advantages of water-saving, environmental friendliness, and excellent flavor, honey processing began to flourish in Central and South America, with honey-processed coffee flavors gaining great popularity in the specialty market.

Practical Brewing Guide

Now, let's move to practical application and see how FrontStreet Coffee brews this Geisha! The parameters are as follows:

• Coffee amount: 15g
• Grind size: 9.5 on EK43, 80% pass-through rate on #20 sieve, fine sugar consistency
• Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15
• Water temperature: 92°C
• Brewing method: Three-stage pour
• Filter: V60

First, as always, comes the bloom stage. Pour twice the amount of water as the coffee grounds and let it bloom for 30 seconds. You can see that this Geisha has excellent water absorption, with noticeable blooming.

After the bloom ends, we pour water from the center outward in circular motions until the entire coffee bed is moistened, then continue pouring in large circles. At this point, we use a large water flow to raise the coffee bed, giving the coffee more layers. The pour amount is 130ml.

When the hot water has mostly permeated, we use a small water flow to pour the remaining 65ml of hot water in small circles around the center. Once the pour is complete, we just need to wait for the water to finish draining, and then we can end the extraction!

The brewed La Esperanza Geissa is exactly as we described earlier—featuring very full purple grape juice, rich rose aromatics, and lively citrus acidity. It has high sweetness and a long aftertaste—truly excellent!

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473