Costa Rica Red Honey Process Coffee Beans: Flavor Profile & Villa Sarchi Coffee Introduction from Villa Estate

Region: Costa Rica Central Valley
Estate: Villa Estate
Altitude: 1500 meters
Variety: Villa Sarchi
Processing Method: Red Honey Processing
Grade: SHB
Harvest Season: 2021

Regional Information

Costa Rica, located in Central and South America, is a renowned coffee-producing country. What's most impressive is their innovative "dry processing method," also known as honey processing. This method can reduce 90% of water resource pollution and decrease water usage by 95% (compared to traditional washed processing). This approach not only protects the local ecosystem but also highlights the high-quality sweetness of the coffee.

Central Valley

The Central Valley is a continuous valley surrounded by mountains and volcanoes. The relatively flat terrain of the valley accommodates 3/4 of Costa Rica's population. The rich and fertile volcanic soil makes agriculture the foundation of this region.

The temperature in the Central Valley varies between 15°C and 30°C, mainly due to its position facing the mountain range (with altitude also varying between 800m to 1,500m). The western part of the valley is influenced by trade winds during summer, creating an ideal environment for coffee cultivation.

This coffee bean from FrontStreet Coffee comes from Villa Estate in the Central Valley. The Spanish name of Villa Estate is "Finca Lote La Casa," meaning "farm with many houses." Carlos is the owner of this estate. His family has been operating coffee processing plants since 2000. Later, Carlos wanted to independently establish his own business, so he and his wife now operate five small farms, placing great importance on coffee quality.

Carlos enjoys experimenting with different varieties: he currently grows Geisha, Villa Lobos, Typica, Villa Sarchi, and SL-28 (he was the first producer in Costa Rica to obtain SL-28, and in recent years he hasn't hoarded this special variety for himself but has distributed seeds to friends and neighbors). Carlos believes that in addition to focusing on coffee processing techniques, more attention should be paid to coffee varieties.

Coffee Variety

The variety of this bean from FrontStreet Coffee is Villa Sarchi, a natural mutation of Bourbon, featuring a single-gene mutation that causes the plant to become smaller (called "dwarfism"), similar to Pacas and Caturra. Villa Sarchi was discovered between 1950 and 1960 in the northwestern region of Alajuela Province, Costa Rica, and subsequently underwent pedigree selection locally (selecting individual plants through continuous generations). Villa Sarchi has not been widely cultivated outside of Costa Rica, so it's no exaggeration to call Villa Sarchi a unique coffee variety of Costa Rica.

Processing Method

This coffee bean uses the red honey processing method from Villa Estate. Red honey processing is one type of honey processing. Villa Estate has a fixed harvesting team of 45 indigenous people from Panama who come to work on the farm during each harvest season. The harvesters focus on cherries, picking only ox-blood red coffee cherries. Don Carlos and his wife greatly trust the harvesters—they don't even have floating pools in their wet processing tools. Workers and visitors are required to cover or remove their shoes before entering the drying area to avoid dust and dirt contaminating the coffee cherries, while the factory's receiving and depulping stations are exceptionally clean, as if brand new.

After harvesting the fruits, depulping is performed. Red honey processing retains 70% of the mucilage layer and is dried in a shaded greenhouse for about 12 days. Once moisture content and fermentation levels meet standards, it is stored in the warehouse.

FrontStreet Coffee Roasting Profile

FrontStreet Coffee's roasters believe that to highlight the sweetness of this red honey processed coffee bean while ensuring its pleasant acidity, a medium-light roast is adopted. Extending the Maillard reaction phase accentuates the sweetness of this coffee.

Cupping Flavor Description

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Suggestions

Dripper: V60#01
Water Temperature: 90-91°C
Coffee Dose: 15g
Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15
Grind Size: Medium-fine grind (Chinese standard 80% pass-through rate through #20 sieve)

Brewing Method: Three-stage extraction. Use 30g of water for a 30-second bloom, then continue pouring in small circular motions to 125g for the first stage. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring to 225g and stop. Wait for the water level to drop and is about to expose the coffee bed, then remove the dripper (timing starts from the bloom). Total extraction time is 2'00".

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473