What Makes the Black Honey Coffee Processing Method So Demanding?

At Hacienda Canet in Costa Rica's Tarrazú region, the black honey process retains 100% of the mucilage and uses no water at all. Cherries are depulped with the mucilage still on the bean and dried the same day, which requires abundant sunlight and favorable weather. The result in Yellow Catuai is a full, buttery body, strong sweetness, and fruit acidity running from berries to citrus.

Yellow Catuai came from a cross between Mundo Novo and Caturra, first bred in Brazil in 1949 by the Instituto Agronomico de Campinas, and it resists disease well at high altitudes. Hacienda Canet sits in the highest coffee-growing zone of Tarrazú, where the owner mainly grows passion fruit, so coffee occupies limited plots and only ripe red cherries are picked.

Hacienda Canet in Costa Rica's Tarrazú region gives the Yellow Catuai variety an entirely new flavor dimension through its original, meticulously executed black honey process. On a small plot of land devoted mainly to passion fruit cultivation, the estate owner tends the coffee with great care, picking only ripe red cherries. The black honey process depends on a lucky alignment of weather and terrain: retaining 100% of the mucilage and drying it under ample sunlight produces a full, buttery body and outstanding sweetness. Named Front Street Baja, this coffee displays a rich progression of fruit acidity from berries to citrus, layered and shifting dry and wet aromas, and a smooth, clean sip with acidity reminiscent of green kiwi. This article takes an in-depth look at its origin, processing method, and complete flavor profile.

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An exclusive fine honey process composes a wonderfully distinctive flavor

Yellow Catuai (Catuai Amarillo) originated from a cross between Mundo Novo and Caturra, and was first successfully bred by Brazil's Instituto Agronomico de Campinas in 1949. Like Red Catuai (Catuai Rojo), Yellow Catuai has excellent disease resistance and is well suited to high altitudes and windy areas. Both Catuai varieties can present delicate, clean acidity. By adjusting machine parameters, red honey and yellow honey coffees can be produced respectively, depending on the degree of honey processing. Hacienda Canet is located in the highest-altitude coffee-growing area of Costa Rica's Tarrazú. This region is the most densely planted fruit-growing area in Costa Rica; the estate owner mainly grows passion fruit, so coffee production is very limited, with coffee planted only on specific plots and given special care, and only ripe red cherries are picked.

Black Honey Process

This is a processing method that retains 100% of the mucilage and uses no water throughout. The difficulty of the black honey process lies in the need for favorable weather: the cherries must be depulped with the mucilage retained on the day of harvest, then dried. The climate conditions during this stage are the key factor determining whether black honey succeeds! Extremely ample sunlight is needed to dry the surface of the beans until they are slightly darker than red honey—this is the black honey process. The estate's distinctive Yellow Catuai variety, after black honey processing, is named Front Street Baja; the overall cup is richly varied, with a full, buttery body and excellent cleanliness! Sweetness is outstanding! The fruit acidity shifts from berries to citrus, layered and highly varied.

Dry aroma: cherry, berry, plum, strawberry, peach, jasmine

Wet aroma: intense and highly assertive floral and fruity notes, sweet and delicate, with lemon, citrus, and berries carrying a ripe wine-like acidity and a pleasant floral fragrance.

Sip: aromas of grape, vanilla, strawberry, melon, and citrus, with the juicy acidity of red pomegranate, excellent cleanliness, a smooth mouthfeel, and a touch of green kiwi acidity.

The 36 coffee aromas:

FrontStreet Coffee Costa Rica Hacienda Canet Baja

Coffee bean origin

Tarrazu

Estate founded

2005

Estate size

About 1.5 hectares

Planted area

About 0.5 hectares

Annual rainfall

About 3,000 mm

Average annual temperature

Average 20°C

Growing altitude

1,820 meters

Coffee variety

Yellow Catuai

Grading standard

SHB

Soil type

Volcanic soil

Coffee processing method

Black honey process

Harvesting method

Hand-picked

Harvest period

2015

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