How do honey process coffee producing regions differ in Costa Rica?

Costa Rican honey-processed coffee comes in three forms, and the difference is how much mucilage stays on the bean during drying. Yellow honey keeps about 25 percent, red honey about 50 percent, and black honey close to 100 percent. More retained mucilage means slower drying, deeper fruit sweetness and higher risk and cost for the producer.

The Tarrazu region, at high altitude with volcanic soil, is a key source of these beans, and its strictly hard bean grading underlines the quality standard. Drying method also shapes the result: yellow honey dries fast with little shade, red honey dries longer under partial shade, and black honey is often covered to extend the coffee process.

Costa Rican honey-processed coffee beans are renowned for their three forms: yellow honey, red honey, and black honey. The differences mainly lie in the proportion of mucilage retained and the sun-drying method. Yellow honey retains about 25% mucilage, red honey about 50%, and black honey nearly 100%. This leads to an increasing intensity of flavor, but also means higher production risks and costs. The Tarrazu region, with its high altitude and volcanic soil, has become an important source of high-quality coffee, and its strictly hard bean grading system further highlights its quality standards. This article systematically reviews the differences in honey processing, representative estates and variety characteristics, and includes Front Street Coffee's roasting and brewing suggestions, providing a comprehensive reference for coffee enthusiasts.

Front Street Costa Rica honey-processed coffee beans, and Costa Rican coffee yellow honey, red honey, black honey processing—what's the difference?

When purchasing Costa Rican honey-processed coffee beans, you often encounter the three options of yellow honey, red honey, and black honey. Perhaps you've also heard that they retain different proportions of mucilage, but what do these numbers actually mean?

Coffee farmers grade the coffee fruit, some retaining less mucilage, which dries faster; others retaining more mucilage, requiring longer sun-drying time. Yellow honey retains about 25% mucilage; to speed up drying, it must be done in the least shaded environment (clouds, shade trees), thus forming a yellow appearance. Red honey retains about 50% mucilage, requiring longer drying with some shade. Black honey usually retains nearly 100% mucilage, and the drying process often requires covering to extend the sun-drying time.

Among Costa Rican honey-processed coffee beans, which is better: yellow honey, red honey, or black honey?

Perhaps black honey is superior. The flavor of honey processing is influenced more finely and deeply by the residual sugars in the mucilage; the more residual, the more intense the flavor. To taste black honey processed coffee, Front Street Blackberry is the top choice—a Caturra variety grown at high altitude in Costa Rica. Since it retains the most mucilage for sun-drying, it fully develops the ripe fruit aromas of the coffee, evolving into notes of raisins, pineapple, mulberry, and ripe black plum.

However, for coffee producers, another commercial consideration must be faced. Although black honey processing can bring better quality and better-priced coffee, the risks and costs also increase significantly, possibly affecting farmers' willingness to use black honey processing. The longer the coffee is exposed to the sun, the more susceptible it is to bacterial growth during fermentation, causing moldy defective beans. It requires more frequent turning of the beans and occupies more drying space, up to twice that of yellow honey processing. It's not just about producing high-quality coffee, but also enabling coffee farmers to produce the most profitable coffee.

Tarrazu Region

Costa Rica's Tarrazu is one of the world's major coffee producing regions. The coffee produced there has a light, pure flavor and a pleasant aroma. Costa Rica's volcanic soil is very fertile and well-drained. It was the first country in Central America to grow coffee and bananas for commercial value. Coffee and bananas are the country's main exports. In 1729, coffee was introduced to Costa Rica from Cuba. Today, its coffee industry is one of the most well-organized in the world, with yields reaching 1,700 kg per hectare. Costa Rica has a population of only 3.5 million, but there are as many as 400 million coffee trees, and coffee exports account for 25% of the country's total exports. Costa Rica also benefits from the Central American Agricultural Research Institute (IAAC) located in Turrialba, an important international research center.

High-quality Costa Rican coffee is called "Strictly Hard Bean," and this coffee can grow above 1,500 meters. Altitude has always been an issue for coffee growers. The higher the altitude, the better the coffee beans—not only because higher altitude increases the acidity of the beans, thus enhancing flavor, but also because lower nighttime temperatures at higher altitudes slow tree growth, making the coffee beans' flavor more intense. In addition, the sufficient rainfall caused by the high-altitude drop is also very beneficial to coffee tree growth. However, although growing coffee at higher altitudes has many advantages, the additional transportation costs must be considered, which may make coffee production unprofitable. Costa Rica's coffee industry has adopted new technologies to increase efficiency, including the use of "electric eyes" to sort beans and identify irregularly sized beans.

Tarrazu is located south of the capital, San José, and is one of the country's most valued coffee growing areas. "La Minita Tarrazu" coffee is a local specialty, but production is limited, about 72,600 kg per year. It is grown on a piece of land called "La Minita," owned by the McAlpine family of the UK for the last three generations. In fact, this land can produce over 450 tons of coffee per year. However, La Minita Tarrazu coffee is grown without artificial fertilizers or pesticides, and its harvesting and selection are done entirely by hand, to avoid the damage that air-jet selection methods can cause to the coffee beans to some extent.

Other coffees worth mentioning include: Juan Vinas (PR), H. Tournon, Windmill (SHB), Monte bello, and Santa Rosa. Premium coffee generally grows in Heredia and the Central Valley. Another notable coffee is Sarchi coffee (Sarchi is one of the five towns representing Costa Rica's "Coffee Route"), which grows on the slopes of Poas Volcano, 53 km from San José. The Sarchi company was founded in 1949, with a land area of 30,770 hectares, growing sugarcane and coffee. This region is also famous for handicrafts, attracting tourists from around the world.

The country's coffee industry was originally controlled by the Costa Rican Coffee Industry Corporation (Instituto del Café de Costa Rica, abbreviated ICAFE), and has now been taken over by the Official Coffee Commission (Oficina del Café). Among exported coffee, those deemed substandard are colored with blue vegetable dye and then returned for domestic sale. Domestically consumed coffee (dyed blue or undyed) accounts for about 10% of total production. Local per capita coffee consumption is twice that of Italy or the United States.

The coffee produced in Tarrazu has a light, pure flavor with bright acidity and citrus or berry-like aromas. Coffee from this region is highly regarded in the international coffee market. Front Street Tarrazu coffee beans are the top choice, with a soft aroma of sweet orange, nuts, and chocolate, very suitable for beginners to taste.

In Tarrazu there is a hard-to-find connoisseur coffee bean—La Minita Tarrazu. Its coffee production is limited, about 72,600 kg (160,000 lbs) per year. It is grown on a piece of land called La Minita, owned by the McAlpine family of the UK for the last three generations. It is so highly praised mainly because La Minita Tarrazu is grown without artificial fertilizers or pesticides, and its harvesting and selection are also done by hand individually (the reason for this is to avoid the damage that air-jet selection methods can cause to the coffee beans to some extent).

Other high-quality coffees in Costa Rica include Juan Vinas (PR); H. Tournon; Windmill (SHB); Monte bellow; Santa Rosa; FJO Sarchi. Note: Excellent Costa Rican coffee beans are called "Strictly Hard Beans," and their classification standards are:

Strictly Hard Beans (SHB): altitude above 1,200 meters (3,900 feet)

Good Hard Beans (GHB): altitude 1,200–1,000 meters (3,900–3,300 feet)

Medium Hard Beans (MHB): altitude 1,000–500 meters (3,300–1,600 feet)

If you like coffee with a light tea-like body, a clean sweet taste, melon-like flavor with slight floral notes, and lemon and nutty flavors, then honey-processed beans from Costa Rica in Central America may suit your taste. So-called honey processing refers to first removing the outer skin of the coffee cherry with a pulper, then placing the mucilage-covered parchment beans on raised beds for sun-drying. This water-saving processing method can make the coffee taste sweeter.

Located in Costa Rica's fertile volcanic Central Valley, the Zamora estate in San Isidro de Heredia is the champion farm of the 2012 Costa Rica C.O.E. coffee competition. The farm is owned by the Rodríguez Carballo family, who have been engaged in coffee production since 1880. This coffee has a complex flavor with floral and ripe juicy fruit notes, and a very clean mouthfeel.

Costa Rica Finca Tres Milagros

In specialty coffee circles, whenever the owner of Hacienda San Isidro, Camilo, is mentioned, most people agree that due to his extraordinary passion for coffee cultivation and courageous experimental spirit, he has become a partner of many top baristas worldwide over the years. In 2013, the Facusse family, who had long operated the food distribution company Dinant in Costa Rica, decided to use Camilo's successful experience of growing estates in Colombia to start a brand-new estate project in Costa Rica together, named Finca Tres Milagros. The name "Tres Milagros" (Three Miracles) comes from Camilo's belief that all successful estates absolutely have these three factors working together and cooperating, and these three elements are the coffee tree, the farmer, and the land.

When deciding to start the Costa Rican estate project, location was the most important decisive factor. After long discussions and land evaluation, it was finally decided to choose Tarrazu, the highest-altitude producing region in Costa Rica. The estate is located at an altitude of 1,450–1,750 meters, with volcanic ash soil from Irazu Volcano, providing ample nutrients for the coffee trees. At the same time, Camilo also required the estate to maintain low-density coffee tree planting, which helps the coffee trees absorb nutrients and grow, and also further enhances the cup profile. Currently, Finca Tres Milagros has about 120 hectares planted, with an annual top micro-lot production of only about 300 bags. In addition, the estate's hardware and equipment are mainly planned according to four key points:

First, adopting the Green House System to provide better humidity, temperature, and ventilation for the green coffee beans during the sun-drying stage.

Second, the Intercrop System, which provides ecological diversity for the estate by planting different plants, and also helps farmers control the farm ecology.

Third, the Shade Grown System. Most of the estate uses Inga trees combined with some other local trees, so that the coffee trees are in a well-shaded environment throughout their growth, protecting the coffee trees' growth.

Fourth, choosing the right coffee varieties. At the beginning of planting the estate, Camilo decided to use traditional low-yield but better-flavored coffee varieties. Excellent varieties besides Bourbon and Geisha include F1, a new variety recently developed in Costa Rica by the French research organization CIRAD. F1 is a cross of Villa Sarchi + Sachimor and Sudan Rume. Besides having the traditional Central American Villa Sarchi flavor, it also carries the citrus-like taste of the African variety Sudan Rume.

La Minita is considered a world-class famous estate. In the minds of some coffee industry people and baristas, it is top-tier, because last year's WBC champion, Klaus Thomsen of Denmark, used La Minita as the main espresso recipe and also used it for the structural flavor of creative drinks. This year in Tokyo, indeed some competitors still used it.

Starting this year, the McAlpin family uses [La Minita] as the common quality control mark for all green beans of the group. All green beans exported by the group are marked with a seal on the burlap bags. Below are the newly arrived La Minita and the mark:

The McAlpin family began operating La Minita in 1967. It can be said that when discussing specialty coffee estates, "La Minita" will definitely be mentioned! In recent years, in SCAA and SCAE cupping courses, instructors almost always mention La Minita when listing flavors or specialty beans. La Minita has not only been a bestseller in Europe for over 50 years but also enjoys a high reputation in the American market!

La Minita has become famous over the years for 7 major characteristics:

[1] Superior geographical conditions and microclimate: Tarrazu is Costa Rica's most famous producing region, but La Minita has two large rivers, the Tarrazu River and the Alumbre River, which converge in the mountainous area west of the estate, fully regulating temperature. The estate's west-facing advantage gives the farm favorable conditions: mornings are not too cold and evenings do not cool too quickly. Rainfall is very well distributed, with moderate rainfall irrigation from flowering to fruiting. High-quality clay soil provides ample nutrients. The average altitude of 4,000 to 6,000 feet makes the beans hard enough and sweet enough!

[2] Selecting good varieties: The estate has Caturra, Catuai red, Catuai yellow, and Hibrido (i.e., hybrid) coffee varieties. After cupping quality and statistical screening, Caturra and a small amount of old Hibrido are currently the main ones.

[3] Strict quality control (1) Rotation planting and tree replacement system. All coffee trees are rotated every five years, meaning after 4 years of harvest, in the 5th year they must be cut down to only 50 cm trees to rest and grow before harvesting again! The farm has a total of 1.5 million trees, and on average 350,000 trees are cut and rested each year! Besides rotation planting, trees must also be replaced! Each coffee tree is harvested for only 15 years, after which new plants are replaced to ensure quality. 150,000 trees are replaced each year, and shade trees are planted around the coffee trees to shade these coffee trees.

[4] The wet processing station procedures are very rigorous, and after processing, sun-drying is used first, followed by machine drying in the later stage.

[5] The green bean elimination rate exceeds 70%, meaning less than 29% of green beans can be sold under the La Minita estate bean label.

[6] In the final green bean selection stage, 30,000 labor hours are used for careful selection. Only qualified beans can use the La Minita label.

[7] Dedication! For example: in the three major stages of Harvesting, Pruning, and processing, everything is handled very carefully. During the harvest period, La Minita's coffee trees are typically harvested in 5 separate pickings on average, because only the ripest cherries are picked. Selective picking means labor-intensive and requires great patience. Pruning is rotation planting, a system that ensures the land does not become overly barren and ensures the quality of green beans can remain at its peak without using chemical fertilizers for forced fertilization. Processing refers to the post-harvest processing of coffee cherries. In 2001, La Minita acquired its own wet processing station, also to maintain consistent quality.

Front Street Costa Rica Sumava Estate

Costa Rica Sumava de Lourdes black honey

Front Street Costa Rica Sumava Estate Caturra Black Honey Process

Region: West Valley

Estate: Finca Sumava de Lourdes

Variety: Caturra

Altitude: 1,700 meters

Processing: Black honey

Soil: Volcanic geology

Harvest: December to March of the following year

Flavor notes: Brown sugar, floral, citrus, pomelo, sweet spices, sweet and creamy mouthfeel

Finca Sumava de Lourdes in Costa Rica is a very young estate. Francisco Mena, originally in the coffee trading business, bought this land and preserved most of the original forest, developing only a small part as a coffee planting area to maintain the estate's natural ecological balance.

Finca Sumava de Lourdes is at an altitude of about 1,670–1,790 meters, in another well-known Costa Rican producing region—West Valley. Large temperature differences, plus fertile soil, make it very suitable for coffee cultivation.

The estate owner, Francisco Mena, introduced a high-quality variety that entered the top 13 of the Cup of Excellence, a mutation of Bourbon—Villa Sarchi. This is a rare variety bred through hybridization of Red Bourbon. It is resistant to strong winds, prefers high-altitude environments, and has excellent acidity and various distinct fruit notes. It is sweet, with bright and delicate citrus acidity and lower-toned raisin and nut aromas, quite complex and very balanced.

Most of the estate is left as forest to maintain the natural environment. In managing the estate, much thought was also put in. For broken wood, decayed wood, and weeds, traditional burning is not used. Instead, the wood is crushed into chips and mixed with organic fertilizer to be used as fertilizer on the farm. From the El Chayote reserve in the West Valley, under the fertile volcanic soil of Po's, facing Pacific convection and moisture, plus the low temperature difference between day and night and an excellent microclimate, this small area within a 1 km radius has produced 4 champion estates! Truly a place with outstanding people and land!

Green Bean Analysis

Caturra, varietal Caturra, Coffea arabica var. caturra.

First discovered in 1937 in São Paulo, Brazil, a natural mutation of Bourbon. Currently widely planted in Brazil, Colombia, and other Central and South American producing regions.

FrontStreet Coffee Roasting Suggestions

Yangjia 800N, green beans 550g, specific operation:

Charge when the roaster temperature reaches 200°C, open airflow to 3, after 1 minute of soaking, adjust heat to 160°C, airflow unchanged, adjust heat once at 160°C, lower to 135°C, roast until 5'40", temperature 154.9°C, bean surface turns yellow, grassy smell completely disappears, dehydration complete, airflow unchanged;

At the 9th minute, the bean surface shows ugly wrinkles and dark spots, the toasted bread smell clearly turns into coffee aroma, which can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this time, listen carefully for the sound of first crack. At 9'21" first crack begins, reduce heat to 80°C, open airflow fully to 5 (adjusting heat must be very careful, not so low that there is no cracking sound), at 50°C, drop at 193.4°C.

FrontStreet Coffee Cupping Flavor

Flavor: Preserved plum, honey, brown sugar, orange blossom, white chocolate

Mouthfeel: Good sweetness, soft fruit acidity, round and full, long finish

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Suggestions

Use a V60 dripper, 16g coffee to 32g water for 30-second bloom, extract at 90°C water temperature, 1:15 ratio, medium-fine grind on a Fuji Royal 3.5. Second pour to 110ml and stop, wait for the water to drop, then slowly pour again at an even speed, water level should not be too high, pour again to 233ml and stop, extraction time 2:15—rich sun-dried sweetness. You can fine-tune according to your own taste.

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.