Introduction to Costa Rica's Little Candle Estate: How to Best Brew Costa Rica Geisha Coffee Beans

The washed Geisha from Costa Rica's La Candelilla Estate, offered by FrontStreet Coffee, has always been the holy grail for Geisha coffee enthusiasts. Not only is it reasonably priced, but it also delivers exceptional flavor characteristics: intensely aromatic with notes of white flowers and citrus, featuring strong lemon acidity. The honey-like sweetness combined with a tea-like finish makes it a truly unique and remarkable coffee bean!

FrontStreet Coffee would like to introduce you to Costa Rica's La Candelilla Estate!

The Legacy of La Candelilla Estate

La Candelilla Estate is a private company owned by seven brothers/brothers-in-law (Ricardo Hernandez, Didier Sanchez, Mario Sanchez, Pablo Sanchez, Hugo Naranjo, Mario René Solis, and Enrique Rivera). Each owns 3 to 5 small farms and processes their coffee at La Candelilla Mill. The Hernandez family has been farming the lands of Tarrazú for five generations, producing coffee in the same region for over 50 years. Before establishing La Candelilla, each sibling managed their own land separately and sent their coffee to cooperatively managed wet mills for processing.

Innovation and Excellence

After years of planning, these families pooled their resources to build La Candelilla Estate & Micro Mill. This was a first in Costa Rica and set the foundation for many small producers to follow. The explosion of micro mills has much to do with the sophistication of Costa Rican processing. La Candelilla Estate is known as one of Costa Rica's earliest micro mills from the 2000s and is renowned for producing high-quality washed, natural, and honey-processed coffees. The farm cultivates and experiments with different varieties, including Caturra, Catuai, Typica, Geisha, and SL28. Candelilla was also among the first farms in Costa Rica to adopt African beds for the drying process. Additionally, they donate annually to schools in the region as part of their Café Practices certification requirements.

The estate now produces 1,000 bags of coffee annually and is highly regarded as one of the country's finest coffee producers. Their processing and variety cultivation methods have always been forward-thinking, and they now produce multiple batches of Geisha each year. The family is among the few producers in Costa Rica who still use traditional fermentation, but they have established an extensive lagoon system that purifies water using native plants before returning it to the rivers.

Didier, the owner of Finca Palmilera, achieved second place in the 2013 Cup of Excellence with his Geisha.

FrontStreet Coffee's Selection

FrontStreet Coffee purchases the premium Geisha specialty coffee from La Candelilla Estate. The washed processing method makes this coffee exceptionally clean and fresh.

Brewing Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee suggests the following brewing parameters: 15 grams of coffee with a 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio, using water at 90°C, with a segmented extraction method totaling approximately 2 minutes.

First infusion: Pour 30 grams of water and bloom for 30 seconds.

Second infusion: Continue pouring until reaching 125 grams.

Third infusion: Use a slightly larger water flow to reach 225 grams total. The entire process should take approximately 2 minutes.

Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473