How Are Honey Process Coffee Flavors Formed? Is the English Term for Honey Processing "Honey Process" or "Miel Process"?

When it comes to coffee beans with a distinctly sweet character, FrontStreet Coffee immediately thinks of the Mozart coffee beans from the Tarrazú region of Costa Rica. With fermented aromas reminiscent of dried fruit and the sweetness of raisins, the anaerobic honey processing adds an extra dimension of character to Costa Rican coffee beans. Honey processing? Does this involve adding honey to the coffee beans to make them sweeter?

Not quite! The "honey" in honey processing comes from the mucilage that is retained on the coffee beans during drying. When touched, it feels sticky, much like honey attached to the surface. After drying is complete, the coffee beans absorb sugars from the mucilage, and their aroma and flavor profile will display a subtle fermented sweetness.

Honey processing, translated from the English "Honey Process" or "Miel Process," gets its "honey" designation from "Miel," which means "honey" in Spanish. This term originated from Costa Rica in Central and South America, where locals refer to the sticky layer of mucilage on coffee as "Miel." Honey processing refers to the method of processing green coffee beans by retaining all or part of the mucilage for drying, evolved from Brazil's pulped natural processing method.

The Science Behind Honey Processing

As the pit part of the coffee fruit, coffee beans are protected by outer layers of skin, pulp, mucilage, and parchment. Processing methods are designed to better separate the coffee beans for drying. Honey processing involves removing the skin while retaining the mucilage for sun drying or shade drying, allowing the pulp and mucilage to ferment during the drying process, bringing richer flavors to the coffee beans.

As more mucilage is retained, honey processing is divided into white honey processing (retaining 40%-50% mucilage), yellow honey processing (retaining 60%-70% mucilage), red honey processing (retaining 80% mucilage), and black honey processing (retaining almost all mucilage). The more mucilage retained, the more substances participate in fermentation, resulting in better sweetness and stronger fermentation characteristics in the coffee beans, with longer drying times. Due to the high mucilage content in black honey processing, direct sun exposure can easily lead to over-fermentation, so it is dried in shaded, ventilated areas for more than 14 days.

Coffee Growing Conditions in Costa Rica

Since most coffee growing areas in Costa Rica are concentrated in the Talamanca mountain range at elevations of 1,200-2,000 meters, the high mountains cannot store water, preventing coffee farmers from using large amounts of water for washed processing methods. Additionally, due to limited sunshine hours, direct sun drying is not feasible. Therefore, local coffee farmers adopted Brazil's pulped natural method, removing the skin and appropriately washing away some pulp and mucilage before sun drying. This approach not only saves water but also reduces drying time. Anaerobic honey processing involves placing the coffee in anaerobic fermentation tanks before removing the skin, then removing the skin and retaining a small amount of mucilage for sun drying. Anaerobic honey processing allows coffee beans to emit distinct fermented aromas even when dried with minimal pulp residue.

Tarrazú Region and Mozart Coffee Beans

Since the entire Costa Rican coffee region basically uses honey processing, why does FrontStreet Coffee first think of coffee beans from the Tarrazú region? Because Tarrazú is the highest altitude growing region among Costa Rica's seven coffee regions, with an average growing altitude of 1,500-2,000 meters. The Mozart coffee beans that FrontStreet Coffee can't forget are grown at 1,800 meters. The high altitude creates significant temperature differences between day and night, slowing the growth of coffee beans. This allows sufficient time for the beans to develop more flavors. Combined with anaerobic honey processing, the flavor profile of these coffee beans resembles the musical style of Mozart: delicate and reserved overall, yet with a remarkably clear character.

Roasting and Brewing Recommendations

When roasting coffee beans, FrontStreet Coffee's roaster aims to preserve the coffee's sweet and acidic flavors while enhancing flavor complexity, allowing Mozart coffee beans to exhibit richer layers, hence the adoption of medium roast. During the roasting process, the time from the yellowing point to first crack is appropriately extended, during which the Maillard reaction allows the coffee beans to display more sweetness.

For brewing, FrontStreet Coffee recommends using a V60 #01 dripper. Use 15g of medium-fine ground coffee (granulated sugar size, with 80% passing through a China #20 standard sieve) and brew with 91°C water at a 1:15 ratio.

FrontStreet Coffee recommends using a segmented pouring approach, divided into three stages to effectively enhance the coffee's layered complexity. Use 30g of water for a 30-second bloom, then continue pouring in small circular motions to 125g. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring to 225g and stop. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed again, remove the dripper. (Timing starts from the beginning of the bloom) Total extraction time is 1'50".

Mozart coffee bean brewed flavor notes: Fermented aroma, raisin, osmanthus, pineapple.

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