What are Costa Rican Arabica Coffee Beans and the Flavor Profile of Black Honey Processed Costa Rican Coffee

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FrontStreet Coffee - Costa Rica Coffee Introduction

Costa Rica borders Nicaragua to the north and Panama to the south, with the Caribbean Sea to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west.

Every coffee bean grown in Costa Rica is Arabica. Varieties with strong resistance to leaf rust, such as Catuai and Catimor, account for more than 80% of production, and the country is known for high planting density and sparse defoliation. Catuai is planted at higher elevations, while Catimor and other varieties occupy the lower ground - a deliberate matching of variety to local geography.

Costa Rica's processing is distinctive too: honey processing is the method of choice nationwide. So what exactly is honey processing?

A coffee bean is the pit, or seed, of the coffee cherry. The cherry's outer layer is the skin, and beneath it lies the pulp. Under the pulp sits the mucilage, a thick, gelatinous layer that clings tightly to the bean. Because this layer is extremely sticky and high in sugar, producers have long called it "honey."

Honey processing means drying the beans in the sun with the mucilage still attached. It sits between natural processing (drying the whole fruit) and washed processing (using water to break the mucilage down). The result keeps some of the cleanliness of washed coffee; brightness drops slightly, but sweetness rises.

The honey styles you will see most often are Yellow Honey, Red Honey and Black Honey.

Yellow Honey: roughly 40% of the mucilage is removed. This style needs the most direct heat, drying under maximum sun exposure, and takes about 8 days to reach a stable moisture content.

Red Honey: roughly 25% of the mucilage is removed. Compared with yellow honey, drying takes longer and direct sun exposure is reduced, sometimes with shade netting, running about 12 days.

Black Honey: almost none of the mucilage is removed. Drying takes the longest - at least two weeks - and covers are used to keep the sun from drying the beans too fast, allowing a more complete conversion of sugars.

Did you know? Why do so few other countries use honey processing? For one thing, the beans are prone to contamination and mold, so they must be watched constantly and turned repeatedly to avoid off-fermentation flavors. For another, the method leans heavily on the weather: it needs dry conditions and plenty of sun, and without them honey processing simply is not viable.

Conclusion

In short, FrontStreet Coffee is a coffee research house that is always happy to share what we know. We hold nothing back, because we want to help more friends fall in love with coffee. Each month we hold three coffee promotions at deep discounts, because FrontStreet Coffee wants to put the best coffee in front of more people at the lowest possible price. That has been our mission for six years.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

To taste what Panamanian coffee can do, the FrontStreet Coffee Panama Boquete Washed Geisha is a great place to begin. Boquete's mountain valleys are often wrapped in mist, humid by day and cool by night, and the fertile soils of Baru Volcano make this ideal Geisha country. Our lot is planted at 1,600 meters; brewed, it delivers Geisha's signature jasmine, green tea, honey, citrus and orange.

For something a little easier on the wallet but still unmistakably Geisha, try the FrontStreet Coffee Panama Washed Butterfly. Half of its lineage is top-quality Geisha - it blends Geisha, Caturra and Catuai grown on the Baru Volcano side of Boquete. Plenty of rainfall, wide day-night temperature swings, volcanic rock soils and careful hand-sorting give it a solid body, bright citrus acidity and a jasmine Geisha aroma. It shines as both pour-over and cold brew.

At the top of the range sits the FrontStreet Coffee Emerald Estate Red Label Geisha, a single-plot Geisha harvested above 1,700 meters with a cupping score of 91, prized for its refined orange-blossom aroma and honeyed sweetness.