Costa Rica's Most Expensive Coffee Beans: Caturra Catuai Coffee Bean Processing Methods, Pour-over Water Temperature, and Flavor Profiles

FrontStreet Coffee - Costa Rica Geisha Introduction

Costa Rica has a long history of coffee cultivation and is renowned as one of the world's finest coffee-producing regions. In recent years the rise of specialty coffee has boosted local sales, particularly in areas such as Tarrazu and Tres Rios. The harvest runs from November to March of the following year, and most growing areas sit on high-altitude volcanic soil that is exceptionally fertile. Costa Rican coffee is highly regarded in the specialty community for its clean, balanced profile, bright and clear fruit acidity, medium body and refreshing sweetness that never cloys. It can be enjoyed following the standard cupping procedure for single-origin coffee.

This Geisha variety, from the Divine Flower Farm and processed using the red honey method, grows on the sun-facing slopes at the highest point of Tarrazu, catching the first rays of sunlight at sunrise. The beans from Divine Flower Farm are processed at the Don Mayo plant, which excels at raising coffee quality while preserving its unique character. Divine Flower Farm clearly applies extremely strict standards to both growing environment and processing procedure. The owner's daughter, Maria Auxiliadora Bonilla, is a barista who won the Costa Rica WBC championship in 2013-2014. The farm runs a highly professional cupping laboratory where every batch of green beans undergoes rigorous evaluation and confirmation, producing virtually impeccable flavour and quality. The estate has achieved outstanding results repeatedly since it was established in 2005, with the following award records:

2013 Cup of Excellence - Fourth Place and Tenth Place
2012 Cup of Excellence - Thirteenth Place

2011 Cup of Excellence - Tenth Place and Twelfth Place
2009 Cup of Excellence - First Place and Fourteenth Place

2008 Cup of Excellence - Third Place and Twenty-Second Place

Coffee Details

Coffee Name: Costa Rica Tarrazu Divine Flower Farm Red Honey Processed Geisha

Coffee Region: Tarrazu

Growing Altitude: 1850 meters

Coffee Variety: Geisha

Grade Standard: SHB

Flavor Profile: Plum, red berry and chestnut, with the fragrance of fresh apple and excellent cane sugar sweetness. The finish carries wonderful malic acidity and chocolate sweetness, featuring not only intense sweet and tart notes but also remarkable body.

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

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Geisha is the most sought-after variety in Arabica, prized for its unique floral aroma and exceptional sweet-and-sour poise, and its high price reflects low yields, weak disease resistance and demanding cultivation and management. Understanding the different tiers is the first step to buying well. FrontStreet Coffee's Esmeralda Red Label and Green Label Gesha come from the estate that made the variety famous. The Red Label, formally Esmeralda Special, grows between 1600-1800 meters, with each lot required to score above 90 in cupping and carrying its own number, since every lot comes from a single plot. The Green Label, formally Private Collection, mixes lots from several plots rather than emphasising individual parcels, expressing the estate's signature high-altitude Geisha character at a much more affordable price.

Beginners who want a taste of the celebrated Geisha profile without paying estate prices can start with FrontStreet Boquete Gesha, an entry-level Panamanian coffee that delivers the classic tangerine-and-honey character, an oolong tea texture and fine fruit sweetness with distinct layers.

Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee, also produces notable Geisha. FrontStreet Gesha Village Gold Label is the Gesha 1931 variety, making up 10% of the village's total output and, outside the auctions, the village's top coffee, often chosen by competitors on the international circuit; its refined natural processing yields a complex cup with a distinctive dry aroma, flavour and long finish. FrontStreet Gesha Village Red Label is the Gori Gesha variety, 15% of production and scoring 88 or above on the SCA 100-point scale, released as a single-terroir series so every lot is fully traceable, including farm block name, variety and processing date.

For a single-variety estate lot, FrontStreet Grana Gesha comes from the Grana processing station in Ethiopia, founded in 2014 and managed by Israel Degefa, in a coffee-growing area of some 700 hectares that remains largely uncultivated, with fertile soil and abundant shade trees. Cherries are hand-picked at full ripeness and dried on raised beds for 14-20 days depending on the weather. Roasted light-to-medium, it shows bright citrus acidity, elegant ginger flower aroma and the full sweetness of ripe fruit, with a fine, silky body and the delicate finish that defines the variety.