Brewing Guide for Costa Rica Finca Phoenix Coffee Beans - Flavor Characteristics of Natural Process Coffee

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On FrontStreet Coffee's coffee bean menu, a coffee bean named "Zahiro" from the Finca Phoenix in Costa Rica always catches everyone's attention. Finca Phoenix is a 100% organic plantation, one of the earliest producers in the Central Valley's fertile volcanic hilly terrain to start producing honey-processed and natural-processed coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee - Costa Rica Finca Phoenix Zahiro Coffee Beans

Region: Costa Rica, Central Valley

Estate: Finca Phoenix

Varieties: Caturra, Catuai

Processing: Natural Process

Altitude: 1600m

Grade: SHB

Central Valley

The Central Valley is a highland plateau in central Costa Rica, with an altitude of 1200-1600m. The region contains three high-altitude volcanoes: Irazu, Barva, and Poas, which provide abundant nutrients to the surrounding coffee-growing areas. With moderate rainfall of 118 inches annually and an average temperature of only 19°C.

The high altitude, rich microclimates, mild temperatures, and three volcanoes provide extremely rich volcanic soil. Through cupping different coffee beans from this region, FrontStreet Coffee found that coffee beans from this area have high hardness, with chocolate and nutty aromas, soft berry acidity, and rich sweetness.

Finca Phoenix

Finca Phoenix is located in the fertile volcanic hilly terrain of the Poas volcano in the Central Valley region of Costa Rica. The estate places great emphasis on environmentally friendly practices, such as collecting and filtering rainwater for coffee processing, and using vermicompost organic fertilizer (earthworms can use their rich enzyme system including protease, lipase, cellulase, amylase, etc., to quickly and thoroughly decompose organic waste, converting it into easily usable nutrients, thereby accelerating the compost maturation process), making the coffee cultivation process completely free of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

The estate owner believes that this farming method is the best choice for environmental protection and the health of family members. Thanks to such nutrient-rich fertilizer and soil rich in minerals, the coffee fruits produced by this estate have very high sugar content. Additionally, the coffee beans from this estate are mainly processed using natural/honey methods, and both processing methods produce coffee beans with very prominent sweetness.

The Zahiro coffee beans that FrontStreet Coffee acquired were named by the estate owner. In Polish, "zahiro" means "sugar," while "Zahiro" is the name given by domestic green bean suppliers. The name "zahiro" directly and simply expresses the characteristics of their coffee beans.

Coffee Varieties

Caturra & Catuai

Caturra (meaning "small" in Guarani) is a natural mutation of the Bourbon variety. Although Caturra plants are smaller with closely spaced branches, this allows them to produce more fruit in the same space, significantly increasing coffee fruit yield. The most important advantage is that unlike ancient varieties like Typica and Bourbon, it doesn't require shade trees and thrives under direct sunlight, which is why Caturra coffee is also called "Sun Coffee." Caturra coffee beans have a curved end, are round and slender, with better productivity and disease resistance than Bourbon, offering overall bright flavors and good sweetness.

Catuai (meaning "very good" in Guarani) is an artificial hybrid of Yellow Caturra and Mundo Novo. Catuai inherits Mundo Novo's high yield, strong disease resistance, and excellent cup quality, while also inheriting Caturra's small plant size, excellent acidity, and sun coffee characteristics. Due to its smaller plant size, it can be planted at double density, and its dwarf stature makes it relatively easy to treat pests and diseases. Catuai grows vigorously and has low height but is susceptible to leaf rust. Through cupping Catuai coffee beans, FrontStreet Coffee found that this variety has excellent acidity and a clean taste. Importantly, this variety's beans have fruity aromas.

Natural Processing

As mentioned earlier, the estate owner primarily uses natural/honey processing methods for coffee beans. The Zahiro coffee beans that FrontStreet Coffee acquired use natural processing, but this differs from natural processing in other regions. The estate owner manually harvests fully ripe coffee fruits with high sugar content, then places them on raised beds to dry in the sun for about 10 days.

They are then moved to greenhouse structures covered with plastic sheets to create more direct and uniform heat, continuing to dry until the moisture content reaches 11.5%. The slow drying process allows the green beans to develop more natural sweetness from within. With careful handling and constant turning, the bright red coffee fruits eventually turn dark, emitting fermented fruit aromas and brown sugar-like sweetness.

FrontStreet Coffee Roasting Profile

This Costa Rica Finca Phoenix Zahiro possesses rich berry and tropical fruit aromas. To preserve the abundant fruit flavors and sweetness of these beans, FrontStreet Coffee's roasters use a medium heat roasting approach. Using a Yangjia 800N roaster (300g batch size). The beans are loaded at 170°C, with damper set to 3 and heat at 110. The turning point occurs at 1'36" at 97.9°C; when the temperature reaches 140°C, the damper is opened to 4. At this point, the bean surface turns yellow, grassy aromas completely disappear, and it enters the dehydration stage. When the temperature reaches 166°C, the heat is adjusted to 80°C while keeping the damper unchanged.

At 8'17", the bean surface shows ugly wrinkles and black markings, with the toast aroma clearly transitioning to coffee aroma - this can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this point, one must listen carefully for the sound of first crack. At 9'00", first crack begins, and the damper is adjusted to 5 (heat adjustment must be very careful, not so low that crackling stops). After first crack, it develops for 2'05" before being discharged at 195°C.

FrontStreet Coffee Cupping Notes

Dry Aroma: Fermentation, tropical fruits

Wet Aroma: Berries, honey

Flavor: Berries, tropical fruits, fermented wine notes, brown sugar

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Tips

Recently, some coffee enthusiasts mentioned to FrontStreet Coffee's baristas that when they brewed this coffee bean, it had a smoky sensation. How should we solve this problem? First, FrontStreet Coffee typically uses medium-fine grind (80% pass-through on a #20 standard sieve) for light roast coffee beans in daily brewing. For brewing this particular coffee bean, FrontStreet Coffee used a grind between medium-fine and medium-coarse (76% pass-through on a #20 standard sieve), with water temperature starting at 90.5°C.

Dripper: Hario V60#01

Dose: 15g

Ratio: 1:15

FrontStreet Coffee uses segmented extraction: First, use 30g of water to fully saturate the coffee bed into a "hamburger" shape and let it bloom for 30 seconds, then proceed with the second stage. In the second stage, FrontStreet Coffee uses steady medium-fine water flow in circular motions, injecting water to 125g at 55 seconds on the timer, then stops to wait for the water level to drop to 2/3 of the coffee bed before starting the third stage. In the third stage, FrontStreet Coffee continues with steady medium-fine water flow, slightly faster, injecting water to 225g at 1'45" on the timer. After the coffee completely drips through, the total extraction time is 1'56".

Brewing Flavor: Entry reveals strawberry, tropical fruits, and fermented wine notes, with honey and cocoa in the finish. The overall mouthfeel is smooth with distinct flavor layers and a prominent aftertaste.

For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee's private WeChat: kaixinguoguo0925

Important Notice :

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