Recommended Coffee Beans for Beginners: Suitable Beans for Pour-Over Coffee and Pour-Over Coffee Bean Selection

FrontStreet Coffee - Costa Rica Tarrazu Cooperative La Pastora Introduction

African coffee beans offer fruity acidity balanced with body, creating a smooth mouthfeel. Asian beans feature distinct herbal notes, earthy flavors and spice characteristics reminiscent of traditional medicine. Compared to African beans, they have much lower acidity and higher body, resulting in a rather bitter cup. North American beans present nutty aromas and dark cocoa flavors, while varieties like Gesha show prominent floral notes and an overall balanced profile.

Beginners new to pour-over coffee can therefore choose beans based on the flavor profiles they prefer. Today, FrontStreet Coffee would like to introduce a washed Costa Rican coffee bean, perfect for those who appreciate a rich, full-bodied cup.

Costa Rica Tarrazu Cooperative La Pastora

Origin: Tarrazu, Costa Rica

Varieties: Caturra, Catuai

Altitude: 1500-1800 meters

Processing: Washed

Flavor Notes: Chocolate, Spice, Honey

Coffee Story

Tarrazu is the most renowned coffee-growing region in central Costa Rica. The Tarrazu Cooperative began in 1960 with 228 coffee farmers and has grown to include over 3,000 farmers today. The cooperative is Fair Trade certified and continuously works to improve the living standards and education levels of coffee farmers.

La Pastora represents a premium selection from the Tarrazu Cooperative. Only Caturra and Catuai varieties grown at high altitudes of 1500-1800 meters are selected. Using traditional washed processing and dark roasting, this coffee perfectly matches the mood of the cold winter season, whether enjoyed black or with milk and sugar.

Taste Profile: The most distinctive characteristic of Costa Rican coffee is its sweetness. This new crop offers a clean, pure flavor without any undesirable notes, the kind of coffee that instantly brightens your mood with every sip.

FrontStreet Coffee's Promise

FrontStreet Coffee is a coffee research house dedicated to sharing knowledge about coffee with enthusiasts. We share our expertise without reservation, hoping to help more friends fall in love with coffee. Every month we host three promotional events with significant discounts, because FrontStreet Coffee aims to let more people enjoy the finest coffee at the most affordable prices. This has been our mission for the past six years.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If a clean, sweet, washed cup is what you want as a beginner, FrontStreet Panama Boquete Geisha is worth the small step up. An entry-level Geisha, it delivers the classic Panamanian tangerine-honey sweetness, an oolong tea texture and delicate fruit sweet-and-sour notes with clear layers, without the price of a competition lot. For a floral, fruitier alternative, FrontStreet Grana Estate Geisha from Ethiopia, medium-light roasted, keeps a pleasant white floral note while highlighting orange, guava and citrus acidity with a cleaner finish. FrontStreet brews Geisha at 91°C with 15g of coffee at a 1:16 ratio in a small V60, pouring in three stages from a 30-second, 30g bloom to 225g in about 2:10-2:20.