Is Costa Rican Coffee Rich and Bold? The Surprising Taste of Costa Rican Pour-Over Coffee

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FrontStreet Coffee - Costa Rica Coffee Introduction

Costa Rica possesses a uniquely advantageous natural environment with fertile volcanic ash, moderate and suitable temperatures, stable and abundant rainfall, sufficient daytime sunlight hours, and significant diurnal temperature variations - all factors contributing to coffee becoming one of the country's main agricultural products. They also produce various grades of green coffee beans, from commercial affordable Arabica beans to those from the Cup of Excellence (COE) competition, as well as the prestigious Geisha coffee variety. Additionally, there are countless post-processing methods including white, yellow, red, and black treatments, offering a dazzling array of options. However, with the evolution of specialty coffee, the norms of large producing regions can no longer satisfy the curiosity of coffee enthusiasts chasing quality, leading to the discovery of more micro-regions and small batches from small estates.

The Honey Process

Although the development of specialty coffee started relatively late, Costa Rica's specialty coffee development has been rapid. With the mild fruit acidity of honey processing, soft mouthfeel, and sweet quality berry flavors, it has become truly remarkable. The so-called honey process refers to the method where coffee beans, during the washed process step of removing pulp, retain a portion of the mucilage to undergo further fermentation. Depending on the amount of retained mucilage, there are different flavors and names.

The honey processing methods we commonly see include: yellow honey, red honey, and black honey. For example, yellow honey Costa Rica retains about 25% of mucilage, red honey about 50%, and black honey retains about 80% of mucilage. Their most obvious distinction is that from yellow, red, to black, each becomes progressively sweeter. Combined with richer fruit notes, they are deeply loved by coffee connoisseurs.

Brewing Recommendations

Recommended brewing method: Pour-over

Parameters: Water temperature: 91°C; Grind size: Medium-fine (BG 6S: China standard 20-mesh sieve pass rate 58%); Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15; Use segmented extraction technique for brewing.

Use 30g of water for blooming, bloom for 30 seconds; small water flow center pour to 124g in segments, when water level drops about to expose the coffee bed, increase water flow to 225g then stop, when water level drops about to expose the coffee bed, remove the filter cup. (Timing starts from blooming) Extraction time 2'00"

The wet aroma is fermented fragrance, with citrus acidity upon entry, carrying flavors of raisins, caramel, and chocolate, with a relatively solid mouthfeel.

Knowledge Point

When coffee was first introduced to Central America for cultivation, Costa Rica was the first country to receive it.

About FrontStreet Coffee

In brief: FrontStreet Coffee is a coffee research hall, happy to share coffee knowledge with everyone. Our unconditional sharing is only to help more friends fall in love with coffee, and we hold three discounted coffee activities each month because FrontStreet Coffee wants to let more friends drink the best coffee at the lowest price - this has been FrontStreet Coffee's principle for the past 6 years!

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