Flavor Profile and Aroma Characteristics of Full-Bodied Costa Rican Diamond Mountain Estate Speciality Coffee Beans

Costa Rica's coffee consists exclusively of Arabica beans, processed using the washed method. FrontStreet Coffee's Costa Rica coffee beans feature a bright style with abundant aroma, as clear as wind chimes swaying in a gentle breeze. The coffee offers mild acidity and excellent sweetness. Due to its sweetness, it remains delicious even when cooled, which stands as a distinctive characteristic of Costa Rican coffee. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee suggests adding only small amounts of sugar and cream when enjoying their Costa Rican coffee to fully appreciate its pure, maiden-like flavor.

Product Details: FrontStreet Coffee Costa Rica Central Valley Yellow Honey Process

• Country: Costa Rica
• Region: Central Valley
• Grade: SHB
• Processing Method: Yellow Honey Process
• Altitude: 1300-1500 meters
• Varietals: Caturra, Catuai
• Cupping Notes: Honey, Tropical Fruit, Maple Syrup, Melons

The El Pastore estate is located in Costa Rica's highest altitude growing region, with SHB grade classification and refined full-wash processing.

The estate places great emphasis on environmental protection concepts, such as collecting rainwater for coffee processing and utilizing worm composting for organic fertilizer production, resulting in completely chemical-free and pesticide-free cultivation. The high-quality coffee produced by this estate is exceptionally distinctive, with its most remarkable feature being astonishing sweetness—it's 100% organic coffee! The estate gained widespread recognition when participating in the 2009 Specialty Coffee Competition.

During harvest season, a Brix meter (commonly equipped in the wine industry) is used to measure the sugar content of the coffee cherries. The optimal harvest timing and processing method are determined based on Brix sugar content, with only cherries exceeding 20% sweetness selected for natural processing. For comparison, the Brix values of common fruits are: apples at 14, lemons at 12, and passion fruit at 18, but the coffee cherries from the Fire Phoenix estate can reach 21-22.

Costa Rica possesses the world's most advanced coffee water processing technology. The SHB grade coffee produced by El Pastore estate represents a typical example of Costa Rican specialty coffee. Coffee beans grown in Costa Rica's high-altitude regions are world-renowned for being rich, mild in flavor, yet highly acidic. These coffee beans undergo meticulous processing, which is precisely why they achieve such high quality. Coffee serves as Costa Rica's important economic source, having been introduced in 1808 and boasting 200 years of cultivation history.

In 1729, coffee was introduced to Costa Rica from Cuba. Today, its coffee industry ranks among the world's best-organized industries, with yields reaching up to 1700 kilograms per hectare. Costa Rica has a population of only 3.5 million but boasts as many as 400 million coffee trees. Coffee exports account for 25% of the country's total export value. Costa Rica's volcanic soil is extremely fertile with excellent drainage, particularly in the Central Plateau region, where soil consists of several thick layers of volcanic ash and dust. Consequently, Costa Rica became the first Central American country to cultivate coffee and bananas for commercial purposes. Coffee and bananas remain the country's primary export commodities.

FrontStreet Coffee's Costa Rican coffee features full-bodied beans, ideal acidity, and unique, intense aroma. Costa Rica's coffee industry was originally controlled by the Costa Rican Coffee Institute (ICAFE) but has now been taken over by the Official Coffee Office. Among exported coffees, products deemed substandard are dyed with blue plant-based coloring before being returned to domestic sale. Coffee consumed domestically (whether dyed blue or undyed) accounts for approximately 10% of total production, with local per capita coffee consumption being twice that of Italy or the United States.

This coffee-producing region, with its various grades and types of coffee, accounts for one-third of global consumption and holds a significant position in the global coffee trading market. Although Costa Rica faces natural disasters several times more frequently than other regions, its sufficient cultivable area adequately compensates for this challenge.

The region offers numerous coffee varieties, but its industrial policy focuses on mass production and affordability, resulting in relatively few premium-grade coffees. However, these coffees serve as excellent choices for blending with other varieties.

Among the most famous is Mountain Costa Rican coffee, known for its mellow, neutral flavor profile. It can be brewed directly or mixed with other coffee beans to create excellent blends, making it a fine choice either way.

Other Costa Rican coffee varieties such as Rio and Paraná can be mass-produced as they require minimal care. Although their flavor may be somewhat coarse, they nevertheless represent good value coffee. Distributed nationwide with varying quality levels, they have established their own standards (classified by impurity content as NO.2-NO.8, by bean size as NO.13-NO.19, and by flavor into six grades). Nearly all Arabica varieties demonstrate good quality with stable prices, the most famous being "Costa Rican" coffee, which has traditionally been an essential component in blended coffees and is widely recognized by the public.

Superior Costa Rican coffee is known as "Strictly Hard Bean" (SHB), a type that can grow at altitudes above 1500 meters. Altitude has always been a challenge for coffee growers. Higher altitude coffee beans are superior not only because increased elevation enhances bean acidity and thus flavor, but also because lower nighttime temperatures at higher altitudes slow tree growth, resulting in more concentrated coffee flavors. Additionally, the elevation gradient creates abundant rainfall, which is highly beneficial for coffee tree growth.

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