Costa Rica Tarrazú Region Introduction Mirasu Estate Geisha Blend Coffee Beans Cupping Flavor Details

Introduction to Geisha Coffee and FrontStreet Coffee's Blended Offerings

When it comes to Geisha, people immediately think of Panama, as Panamanian Geisha coffee offers a truly unique flavor profile. When discussing Geisha blended coffee beans, FrontStreet Coffee's Panama "Flower Butterfly" coffee beans come to mind. After all, it allows coffee enthusiasts to experience Geisha flavors at a relatively affordable price point.

As Costa Rica borders Panama, and since Panama's Geisha was originally introduced from Costa Rica, it's natural that after Geisha gained fame at Panama's Best of Panama (BOP) competition, Costa Rica began to recognize the potential of this variety. Today, FrontStreet Coffee introduces a Geisha blended coffee bean from Costa Rica.

The Mirazu Estate: Origin and Terroir

The FrontStreet Coffee Costa Rica Geisha blend that FrontStreet Coffee acquired comes from Mirazu Estate, a small farm located in the Tarrazú region. The estate owner, Esteban Sanches, was originally a family member of the neighboring La Candelilla estate. Due to his dedication to coffee, he established his own farm and named it "Mirazu," meaning "overlooking Tarrazú." True to its name, the location not only offers stunning scenery but also provides an excellent microclimate for coffee cultivation, laying a solid foundation for high-quality green coffee beans.

Varietal Composition and Coffee Heritage

As the name suggests, FrontStreet Coffee's Mirazu Geisha blend contains 50% Geisha variety. Beyond Geisha, it includes ET47, SL28, and MAICO varieties. Geisha, considered one of the most promising coffee varieties, was first discovered in the Geisha forest of Ethiopia, then sent to the Kenyan Coffee Research Institute. In 1936, it was introduced to Uganda and Tanzania, followed by Costa Rica in 1953, and eventually reached Panama in the 1970s where it achieved instant fame.

ET47 originates from Ethiopian native varieties and native Geisha. In Costa Rica, wild Geisha is typically used for hybrid variety research. It was laboratory sample number 47 (as many varieties were introduced simultaneously, numbers were used for identification). SL28 is a premium variety selected by Kenya's Scott Laboratories, possessing Bourbon genetics.

Although this FrontStreet Coffee Costa Rica Geisha blend appears to contain numerous varieties, it demonstrates Mirazu Estate's excellent traceability and varietal classification capabilities. After all, some regions have limited traceability capabilities, leading to vague generalizations about coffee varieties.

Processing Method: Raisin Honey Process

FrontStreet Coffee's Mirazu Geisha blend uses Costa Rica's raisin honey processing method, which preserves 100% mucilage with zero water processing. On the day of harvest, coffee cherries are poured into large water tanks, where fully mature, dense fruits sink to the bottom, while underdeveloped or overripe fruits float to the surface and are removed. The selected coffee fruits are dried on raised beds for at least three days, then the cherry skin is removed while preserving the mucilage for further drying. During this stage, climate factors are crucial to the success of honey processing.

During the drying process, these coffee cherries must be constantly turned to ensure even drying, but the turning frequency must be carefully controlled to achieve slow drying that ensures proper fermentation without excessive fermentation.

Roasting Profile and Flavor Development

When FrontStreet Coffee received these Mirazu Geisha blend coffee beans, considering their processing method and Geisha characteristics, FrontStreet Coffee's roaster aimed to express high sweetness and highlight Geisha's floral and fruity acidity, therefore adopting a medium-light roast.

Eight hours after roasting completion, FrontStreet Coffee conducted a cupping of this Mirazu coffee bean. Through cupping, the flavor profile of FrontStreet Coffee's Costa Rica Mirazu Geisha blend revealed notes of rose, strawberry candy, dried fruit, and almond.

In FrontStreet Coffee's Mirazu Geisha blend, the Geisha variety provides jasmine floral aromas, while other varieties enrich the strawberry and berry flavors. Combined with the raisin honey processing method, this FrontStreet Coffee Geisha blend achieves enhanced sweetness. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee also refers to these coffee beans as "Strawberry Candy." When brewing, it's essential to highlight the floral and berry aromas of this FrontStreet Coffee Costa Rica Geisha blend, along with grape and strawberry flavors.

Brewing Recommendations

Before brewing, FrontStreet Coffee suggests using freshly roasted coffee beans to maximize the appreciation of coffee's rich flavors. Coffee beans shipped from FrontStreet Coffee are all roasted within 5 days, as FrontStreet Coffee deeply understands that coffee bean freshness significantly impacts flavor. FrontStreet Coffee's roasting philosophy is "freshly roasted quality coffee," ensuring that every customer who places an order receives the freshest coffee possible. The coffee's resting period is around 4-7 days, so when customers receive their coffee, it's at its optimal flavor peak.

For brewing parameters, FrontStreet Coffee selected 15g of coffee grounds, with a grind size on the finer side, using a #20 (850 microns) standard sieve with approximately 78-80% pass-through rate. A coffee-to-water ratio of 1:16 was used - extending to this ratio is more suitable for tasting the concentration of this particular coffee, providing more aromatic expression from a sensory perspective. Through multiple brewing comparisons, water temperature of 90-91°C better expressed the aroma and sweetness of this FrontStreet Coffee Mirazu coffee. A V60 dripper was used to enrich the layering of this coffee.

Brewing Technique

Process: Place 15g of coffee grounds into the dripper, first pour 30g of water for a 30-second bloom. Coffee processed with the raisin honey method absorbs water more easily and expands, releasing fresh berry aromas.

For the second pour, use a small water flow in concentric circles to add 120g of water. At this point, the coffee bed height will be approximately at the bottom of the ribs. When the coffee bed begins to recede, start the final pour of 90g of water. End the extraction when all coffee liquid has dripped into the lower vessel, with a total time of 1 minute and 50 seconds.

Additional Information

For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style).

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

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473