Costa Rica Yellow Honey Coffee Flavor Profile, Characteristics, Varieties, Grind Settings, and Processing Method Introduction

FrontStreet Coffee is here today to continue sharing about Costa Rica's honey-processed coffee, and this time we're focusing on yellow honey processing. The finest coffee beans from Costa Rica are known as "Strictly Hard Beans" (SHB), grown at high altitudes above 1,500 meters. Due to the significant temperature variations between day and night at these elevations, along with abundant rainfall, the coffee growing period is extended, which helps concentrate the flavor compounds. The coffee FrontStreet Coffee is sharing today is a yellow honey-processed Strictly Hard Bean, featuring traditional honey processing flavors and a unique mouthfeel. Read on to learn more!

Different regions produce coffee with distinct characteristics through various processing methods. So even for beans from the same origin, what differences arise from using different processing methods? Today, let's compare the differences between yellow honey processing and washed processing in Costa Rica's Tarrazú region.

Tarrazú, Costa Rica

Tarrazú is one of the most valued coffee-growing regions in Costa Rica and one of the world's major coffee-producing areas. Costa Rica's volcanic soil is extremely fertile and well-drained, making it the first country in Central America to grow coffee and bananas for commercial purposes. Premium Costa Rican coffee is called "Strictly Hard Beans" (SHB), which can grow at altitudes above 1,500 meters. Altitude has always been a challenge for coffee growers. The higher the altitude, the better the coffee beans—not only because higher altitude increases the beans' acidity and thus enhances flavor, but also because the lower nighttime temperatures at higher elevations slow tree growth, resulting in more concentrated coffee bean flavors. Additionally, the altitude variations create abundant rainfall, which is very beneficial for coffee tree growth. However, while growing coffee at higher altitudes has many advantages, the additional transportation costs must be considered, which can make coffee production unprofitable. Costa Rica's coffee industry has adopted new technologies to increase efficiency, including using "electronic eyes" to select beans and identify irregularly sized coffee beans.

Processing Method: Yellow Honey

Honey processing is popular in Central America and可以说是 the most common processing method in the Costa Rica region. It's a processing method that falls between natural and washed processing. It allows the coffee to retain the cleanliness of washed processing while significantly increasing sweetness and caramel flavors (the fruit mucilage has extremely high sugar content) since it's dried together with the fruit mucilage under the sun. The characteristics of honey-processed coffee depend largely on the settings of the pulp remover—the more fruit pulp retained, the more pronounced the honey processing characteristics. However, producing honey-processed coffee requires farms to take some risks, especially for black honey, because the more fruit pulp retained, the higher the risk of over-fermentation. Based on the degree of mucilage retention, it's divided into: black honey, red honey, yellow honey, and white honey.

Yellow honey processing retains 60% of the mucilage for drying; the drying method requires the most direct heat absorption, receiving maximum sunlight for drying, taking about 8 days to reach stable moisture content.

FrontStreet Coffee Costa Rica Yellow Honey Cupping Notes: Obvious fermented fruit aroma, with flavors of berries, citrus, and peach.

Taking FrontStreet Coffee Costa Rica Yellow Honey as an example

Region: Tarrazú

Variety: Caturra, Catuai

Altitude: 1,950 meters

Processing: Honey processing

FrontStreet Coffee Pour-over Parameters: Dripper: V60; Grind size: BG-6L; Water temperature: 90°C; Coffee dose: 15g; Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15; Total brew time: 2:00

Specific Pour-over Technique: Bloom: 30g water for 30 seconds; First pour: Slowly pour in a circular motion 90g of water, stop at 120g reading, wait for the water level to drop to the coffee bed surface. Second pour: Increase water flow and pour in a circular motion, add 105g of water, stop at 225g reading, wait for the coffee bed to be exposed, then remove the dripper.

Tasting Notes

Pour-over: Obvious fermented aroma on the palate, with citrus acidity, chocolate-like sweetness in the mid-palate, caramel aftertaste and green tea sensation in the finish, with floral and cedar aromatics in the aftertaste, overall well-balanced.

Important Notice :

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