Costa Rica Las Nubes Estate Coffee - Cloud Estate Washed Geisha Coffee Flavor

FrontStreet Coffee: Costa Rica Los Santos Las Nubes Washed Geisha

Region: Los Santos
Estate: Las Nubes
Processing Method: Washed
Variety: Geisha
Altitude: 2000m
Flavor: Jasmine, mango, yellow apricot, coconut, lactic acid

Los Santos Region

Protected by the Pacific slope mountain ranges, Los Santos has become a sanctuary for forests and birds. Since the mid-19th century, people from Costa Rica's other major coffee-growing region, the Central Valley, began migrating to this area, planting coffee on the high mountains, small valleys, and slopes.

The region covers approximately 22,000 hectares of cultivation area, composed of small farms with an average area of 2.5 hectares. Over 95% of the coffee beans produced here achieve SHB grade, which is the highest and best grade in Costa Rica's coffee bean hardness classification.

At the same latitude and same plot, when the altitude is higher, the temperature difference between day and night becomes greater, the coffee growing period becomes longer, the beans become harder, the beans absorb more nutrients, and the flavor compounds become more pronounced. Typically, only coffee beans grown at altitudes above 1400m in Costa Rica can achieve this hardness, and the coffee's flavor will be richer and more distinct.

Los Santos can produce high-quality coffee not only because of its high altitude but also due to its distinct rainy season lasting seven months (May to November) and dry season (December to April), which is beneficial for coffee flowering and harvesting. The five-month harvest period from November to March coincides with the dry season, which helps with sun-drying of the coffee.

Las Nubes Estate

Las Nubes Estate is located in the Santa María de Dota region of San José Province, Costa Rica. The estate sits at an altitude exceeding 2000 meters. Due to the many rocks distributed across the land, the plots are relatively scattered, with a total cultivation area of only 1 hectare.

When the first-generation owner Isidro Batlle purchased this farm in the 1920s, he was inspired by its high altitude and named it Finca Las Nubes, meaning "Clouds." Today, the estate has a century-long history but remains a benchmark for high-quality coffee in the region.

To produce excellent coffee, generations of estate owners have focused on many innovative facilities to optimize processing methods and various experiments. Besides the Geisha variety, the estate also grows other regional coffee varieties such as Typica Mejorado, Kenya, and Castillo to maintain the diversity of coffee trees within the estate and for research on more leaf rust-resistant coffee varieties.

The estate primarily uses washed, natural, and honey processing methods to extract coffee beans. In recent years, with the popularity of anaerobic processing, in 2022, the estate launched its first batch of coffee anaerobically fermented for 72 hours using coffee berry enzymes, naming this processing method "Juicy Natural."

Each summer, mature coffee cherries are harvested by experienced Panamanian workers. After different processing steps, they are finally placed on greenhouse shelves at an altitude of 2100 meters for sun-drying. FrontStreet Coffee's current selection is a washed-processed Geisha coffee bean.

Geisha Coffee Variety

The Geisha variety planted in the Costa Rica region is the Geisha T2722 we are familiar with, which is the same variety planted in the Panama region, characterized by bright citrus acidity and fresh floral flavor notes.

The Geisha variety was originally collected from the coffee forests of Ethiopia in the 1930s. From there, it was sent to the Lyamungu research station in Tanzania, then brought to the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE) in Central America in 1953, where it was recorded as T2722.

In the 1960s, after its tolerance to coffee leaf rust was recognized, it spread throughout Panama via CATIE. However, the plant's brittle branches were not favored by farmers, so it was not widely cultivated.

In 2005, the Peterson family from Boquete, Panama, selected this coffee to participate in the "Best of Panama" competition and auction, which brought it to fame. From this point onward, Costa Rica and other coffee-producing countries began to value the Geisha variety and started widespread cultivation.

Washed Processing

According to records, Costa Rica first introduced the washed processing method in 1830; by 1905, the region already had nearly 200 washing stations. Washed processing makes coffee quality more controllable while also improving it.

Washed processing removes the skin and pulp of the coffee fruit, removes the mucilage layer through water fermentation, and then sun-dries. Natural processing retains the complete fruit for sun-drying before removing the skin, pulp, and mucilage. Compared to natural processing, washed coffee has a lower defect rate, which allowed Costa Rican coffee quality to maintain excellence at that time.

This Geisha coffee bean that FrontStreet Coffee acquired, through washed processing, exhibits very full acidity, as rich as mango juice, with the fresh aroma of yellow apricot and jasmine flowers, as well as coconut-like sweetness.

FrontStreet Coffee Pour-over Parameters Recommendation:

Dripper: V60 Dripper
Dose: 15g
Ratio: 1:15
Grind Size: 78% passing through China #20 standard sieve
Water Temperature: 90-91°C

Using a three-stage circular pouring technique: First, use 30g of water to fully saturate the coffee grounds into a "hamburger" shape and bloom for 30 seconds, then proceed to the second stage of brewing; for the second stage, FrontStreet Coffee uses a steady medium-fine water stream to pour in circles to 125g, then stops; when the water level drops to 2/3 of the coffee bed, inject the third stage; the third stage continues with medium-fine water pouring in circles to 225g and ends the pour, with a total extraction time of 2'20".

Important Notice :

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