The Characteristics and Stories of Hacienda Carnet Musician Series Coffee Beans: Is Mozart Coffee the Best Flavor?

The Origin of Costa Rica Musician Series Coffee Bean Names

Sipping coffee while listening to music—what a delightful life! Originally intending to enjoy famous music, who would have thought that one could also drink coffee named after famous musicians, bringing even more joy to the experience!

FrontStreet Coffee has mentioned before: coffee naming varies greatly. Some are named after regions or estates, while others are named after coffee varieties. But what about coffee named after musicians? The Musician Series originated because the owner of Carnet Estate is passionate about classical music, so all coffee beans produced by this estate are named after musicians. Carnet Estate is located in the highest altitude coffee-growing area of Tarrazu, Costa Rica. This estate primarily produces two varieties—Caturra and Catuai—using raisin honey processing and washed methods, creating the world-renowned Musician Series coffee beans named "FrontStreet Coffee Beethoven," "FrontStreet Coffee Bach," "FrontStreet Coffee Chopin," and "FrontStreet Coffee Mozart." Grown at altitudes between 1,700-1,950 meters, these are all SHB-grade high-altitude strictly hard beans, featuring sweet flavors with rich fruit aroma, wine fragrance, and tea notes.

The Origin of Musician Series Coffee

Let's first explore where the Musician Series coffee comes from. It originates from the town of San Marcos in the Tarrazu region of Costa Rica. The Costa Rica Tarrazu region is located in a volcanic area at around 2,000 meters altitude, featuring fertile volcanic ash soil and a cool, high-altitude environment that produces coffee beans with rich flavors, bright quality acidity, and a clean, clear texture. In Tarrazu, rainy and dry seasons are distinct. The rainy season lasts from May to November (7 months), which coincides with the coffee tree growing period, while the dry season runs from December to April of the following year (5 months). The local coffee cherry harvest time spans from November to March of the following year, lasting 5 months and perfectly aligning with the dry season. This climate with distinct wet and dry seasons provides ideal growing conditions and results in coffee cherries with consistent ripeness.

Carnet Estate—The Home of Musician Series Coffee

Carnet Estate is a small 5-hectare farm located in the town of San Marcos in the Tarrazu region. Tarrazu is the main coffee-producing area in Costa Rica and one of the world's major coffee-growing regions. The coffee-growing soil is extremely fertile with good drainage, and this region has the highest average latitude with excellent climate and soil conditions, establishing Tarrazu's fame in Costa Rican coffee. Carnet Estate is situated in the highest altitude coffee-growing area of Tarrazu, Costa Rica. It is owned by the Robles brothers—Leo, Elian, and Melvin—who have worked together in cultivation and production for over 10 years and also share a small wet processing mill (Beneficio). The estate owner primarily grows passion fruit, with coffee production being quite limited. Only a specific area is dedicated to coffee cultivation, receiving special care and harvesting only fully ripe coffee cherries. It is precisely this careful selection that results in the estate's coffee beans having high sweetness and lasting sweet flavor.

FrontStreet Coffee's Musician Series includes FrontStreet Coffee Costa Rica Mozart Coffee and FrontStreet Coffee Costa Rica Bach Coffee, both of which undergo raisin honey processing.

Musician Series Coffee Bean Processing—Raisin Honey Processing

It is often said that besides the influence of regional climate, coffee bean processing is the most direct factor affecting coffee flavor. Coffee beans from Carnet Estate primarily use honey processing. Raisin honey processing is considered a form of double-fermentation honey processing, and fully ripe coffee cherries are a prerequisite before processing begins. Raisin honey processing retains 100% of the mucilage and uses zero water treatment methods, which increases the difficulty of honey processing and requires strict time control. On the day of coffee cherry harvest, the harvested cherries are poured into large water tanks, where mature, full cherries sink to the bottom; underdeveloped or overripe cherries float to the surface and must be removed. The selected coffee cherries are placed on raised beds to dry for at least three days, then the cherry skin is removed while preserving the mucilage before further drying.

Through the steps of drying first and then removing the cherry skin, the coffee develops more intense fermentation flavors. Compared to other honey processing methods, raisin honey processing retains 100% of the mucilage for drying, which significantly enhances the coffee's sweetness.

The Musician Series—Bach

This FrontStreet Coffee Costa Rica Bach coffee consists of the two most common varieties in Central and South America: Caturra and Catuai. The raw beans smell of fermented fruit. Observing the raw beans, they appear dark green, grown at around 1,950M altitude with relatively hard bean texture. Being from the 2019 harvest season, the beans have relatively higher moisture content. In terms of roasting approach, a gradual temperature reduction with extended dehydration time is used to follow this curve. Considering that this "FrontStreet Coffee Costa Rica Musician Bach" uses raisin honey processing, the roast level is designed as medium to highlight the bean's fermentation aroma and fruit notes while preserving the balanced, full-bodied characteristic of honey-processed beans.

The Musician Series—Mozart

Mozart, the child prodigy who epitomized classical music brilliance—truly magnificent! Magnificent aroma: emitting elegant floral notes, similar to the white flower fragrance of orange blossoms, which can also be experienced during brewing. Magnificent taste: rich dark berries, raisins, and subtle red berries, with hints of plum acidity and gummy bear-like sweetness in the middle to late stages. The floral notes and sweetness persist even as it cools. Unlike previous versions, the former FrontStreet Coffee Costa Rica Mozart coffee used Yellow Catuai variety processed with red honey processing, known for its exuberant floral aroma. This time, it was decided to use Caturra's sweetness to represent Mozart instead.

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Recommendations

For coffee brewing, FrontStreet Coffee suggests using freshly roasted coffee beans to fully experience the rich flavors of coffee. FrontStreet Coffee ships all coffee beans within 5 days of roasting because FrontStreet Coffee deeply understands that coffee bean freshness greatly impacts flavor. FrontStreet Coffee's roasting philosophy is "freshly roasted good coffee," ensuring that every customer receives the freshest coffee upon delivery. The coffee bean degassing period is around 4-7 days, so when customers receive their coffee, it is at its peak flavor.

Of course, some customers need FrontStreet Coffee to grind the beans for them, which is also fine. However, FrontStreet Coffee reminds that when coffee beans are pre-ground, they need to be brewed promptly. If already ground into coffee powder, there's no need for further degassing, because during transportation, the pressure from carbon dioxide buildup in the packaging also helps round out the coffee flavor, so you can brew a cup immediately upon receiving the coffee powder.

However, coffee powder oxidizes relatively quickly when exposed to air, meaning the coffee flavor will dissipate more rapidly, and the coffee won't taste as good. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee suggests purchasing whole beans and grinding fresh before brewing to better experience the coffee's flavor.

FrontStreet Coffee uses Hario V60 dripper when brewing FrontStreet Coffee Musician Series coffees. The V60 conical dripper has a wider opening, and its unique spiral ribbed design allows air to escape more easily, improving extraction quality. The body might not be as full, but its high concentration that brings out sweet and sour notes with distinct aroma is its major characteristic.

Dripper: Hario V60, Water Temperature: 90°C, Coffee Amount: 15g, Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15, Grind Size: Medium-fine grind (80% pass-through rate on China standard #20 sieve)

Using segmented extraction, bloom with 2 times the coffee amount in water (30g water for 30 seconds). The blooming process is necessary to allow the coffee grounds to release internal carbon dioxide, ensuring more stable extraction in the later stages. With a small water flow, pour in a circular motion to 125g, then continue pouring to 225g and stop. Once the water has finished dripping through the filter, remove the dripper. Time from the beginning of pouring: 2'00". Next, pick up the entire cup of coffee, shake it evenly, and pour it into a cup for tasting.

Brewing Flavors

FrontStreet Coffee Costa Rica Bach brewing flavor: smells like rice wine fermentation aroma, tastes like mature tropical fruits with berry sweet and sour notes, nutty and creamy flavors, caramel aftertaste with a subtle floral finish.

FrontStreet Coffee Costa Rica Mozart brewing flavor: rich black grape aroma, with raisins and sweet orange on the palate. As the temperature changes, fermented wine aroma and osmanthus fragrance become more noticeable.

These two FrontStreet Coffee Musician Series coffees each have their own unique characteristics and both taste wonderful! As for which one is better, FrontStreet Coffee believes this entirely depends on personal preference, as everyone's palate is different. Of course, FrontStreet Coffee suggests trying both, as experiencing different flavors can bring different delightful experiences!

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