How should elephant coffee beans be brewed on a V60?

Maragogype, known as elephant coffee beans, grows at Colombia's El Boton estate in Antioquia, run by the Herran family since 1930. The beans are about three times the size of ordinary Arabica and are considered the largest coffee bean. Annual output is just 600 bags, and the cup shows prominent sweetness with grape and pomegranate acidity and a black tea body.

El Boton sits at 4,430 feet, with fertile soil, low planting density, and shade-grown trees. Only ripe red cherries are picked, and washed processing is finished on the estate the same day. A V60 three-pour extraction, starting with 15g of medium grounds, releases the rich fruity aroma and soft nutty notes of this large bean.

The El Boton estate in Colombia's Antioquia province has been run by the Herran family since 1930, and for nearly a century it has grown only one variety: Maragogype elephant beans, with an annual output of just 600 bags. These beans are about three times the size of ordinary Arabica and are the largest coffee beans in the world. This El Boton Maragogype from Front Street Coffee has a prominent sweetness on the palate, with fruity acidity of grape and pomegranate and a full-bodied feel like black tea. This article will break down the complete brewing approach for this giant bean layer by layer, from the estate's story, the characteristics of the Maragogype variety, the washed processing method, roasting suggestions, to V60 three-pour hand-brewing parameters, helping coffee lovers fully release its rich fruity aroma and soft nutty notes.

Front Street El Boton Estate background story:

El Boton Estate is located in Antioquia, a traditional coffee-producing region in central Colombia. The area's rugged, layered mountains make cultivation quite difficult, but they also form a natural barrier. The Maragogype grown on this estate has large, plump beans, and its outstanding high sweetness on the palate is striking, with fruity acidity like grape and pomegranate interwoven with the full-bodied feel of black tea, giving this big bean rich inner content.

El Boton Estate is located in the La Carmina mountain area in southwestern Antioquia province, Colombia. Geographically, this area belongs to the northwestern part of Colombia and is a province adjacent to the Pacific coast.

The Herran family has grown Maragogipe on this estate since 1930. Although switching to other new varieties could bring higher yields, the Herran family still grows only Maragogipe to this day. Because of this, they can harvest only 600 bags per year (70 kg per bag). On a coffee estate, growing only Maragogipe is a truly rare kind of persistence.

The El Boton Estate reaches an altitude of 4,430 feet. The La Carmina area has fertile soil, the coffee trees are planted at quite low density, and all are grown under shade.

The coffee harvest begins in October. Because only ripe red cherries are picked, harvesting continues until January of the following year. El Boton Estate insists on picking only ripe cherries and completing washed processing on the estate the same day, using an environmentally friendly method with low water consumption to remove the skin and pulp and carry out washed fermentation—all residues produced during processing are used as fertilizer for the coffee trees; after fermentation and washing, the drying stage uses machine drying, drying the parchment green beans at low temperature to 12% moisture content, then transferring them to a Silo for storage, awaiting hulling and grading.

After hulling, women on the estate are responsible for sorting the green beans, manually removing defective beans and selecting the best-quality green beans. This step does not rely on machines at all. In fact, Maragogype coffee is naturally larger than ordinary flat beans. Relying entirely on manual screening is time-consuming and labor-intensive, but larger beans are actually easier to sort. Manual operation has its own rationale, especially since this estate's output is already very small.

Front Street Maragogype elephant bean variety introduction:

Maragogype elephant beans are about three times the size of ordinary Arabica beans and are the largest coffee beans in the world.

Coffee flavor profile: strawberry, berry jam sweetness, nutty aroma, soft and full fragrance, nutty finish, slight sweet-and-sour, smooth mouthfeel, and good overall balance.

The Maragogype variety is a mutation derived from Typica. Maragogype grown at 700 to 800 meters has a mediocre flavor and lacks character, and has been criticized by some connoisseurs. However, once Matagalpa Maragogype is planted above 1,000 meters, its performance is completely different.

Maragogype planted above 1,000 meters has a soft, alluring aroma, a mild and stable taste, and a balance of acidity with slight bitterness and sweetness. In particular, its rich fruity aroma and smooth mouthfeel are quite close to Front Street Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee beans: sweet within the acidity, full body, and very attractive.

The mouthfeel of Matagalpa giant Maragogype is similar to Front Street Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee beans, but the price is only about two-thirds of Jamaica Blue Mountain, offering extremely high value for money. It is also the only Maragogype in recent years to have been selected for and win an award in the Cup of Excellence (COE), so some coffee shops sell it as Blue Mountain coffee beans.

The annual quantity of Matagalpa giant Maragogype is actually not large. At present, only Mexico, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Brazil, and a few other countries grow it in small amounts, and the trade volume is not large.

Washed Process introduction:

In response to the shortcomings of the traditional natural method, the washed method emerged. First, a depulper is used to separate most of the pulp from the harvested cherries and coffee beans, and then they are transferred into a clean tank and soaked in water for fermentation to thoroughly remove the remaining pulp layer. After fermentation is complete, the moisture content is reduced to 12% through sun drying or machine drying. Because the washed method has already removed the pulp in advance, there is no need during drying to worry about mold and insect damage as with the natural method.

(↑depulper, removing the pulp) (↑soaking in water for fermentation) (↑spreading out to dry)

Natural beans have a rich and full flavor with distinct and diverse layers; washed beans have a very clean and refreshing mouthfeel with obvious fruity acidity. Different processing methods give coffee beans completely different aroma expressions.

Roasting suggestions and analysis:

This Front Street elephant bean coffee is the giant bean variety [Front Street Maragogype]. The beans are on the large side, but their density is medium, and new-crop beans themselves have relatively high moisture content. During roasting, they absorb heat relatively slowly, but the Maillard reaction progresses relatively quickly. If roasted improperly, it is easy to end up with an underdeveloped interior and a scorched exterior, or a loose and hollow flavor after roasting. The yellowing point is around 5 minutes. On the first roast, you can try a slightly higher charge temperature, such as 200°C, and increase the heat accordingly, then gradually reduce the heat during roasting according to the actual situation: after the beans enter the yellowing point, reduce the heat to extend the dehydration time so the giant beans can fully dehydrate; after dehydration is complete and before first crack, you can appropriately maintain medium heat or slightly increase the heat to speed up the Maillard reaction and ensure pressure before first crack; when first crack is imminent, reduce the heat appropriately to avoid scorching the bean surface. Following this approach, the coffee's dehydration time is relatively extended, with the temperature rising 6 to 8 degrees every thirty seconds, but it can still normally enter first crack between 8.5 and 9.5 minutes, thereby preserving more floral and fruity aroma and retaining clean and bright acidity. It is usually recommended to drop the beans between the dense later stage of first crack and the end of first crack, around a medium roast.

However, roasting Maragogype giant elephant beans requires a bit of skill! Because this Front Street Colombia El Boton Estate coffee bean is about three times the size of an ordinary Arabica bean, some expertise is needed in mastering heat penetration. If the heat is too high, the surface color may look ready for dropping, but the interior may not be fully roasted, giving a drying astringency when drunk; it may also be roasted too long and become over-scorched, losing the Blue Mountain flavor. Mastering this balance truly requires skill.

Cup profile description:

Dry aroma: rising aroma, with a bit of floral fragrance, pasture grass aroma, floral and herbal essential oils

Wet aroma: caramel aroma, citrus acidity

Slurping flavor: oily and viscous, citrus and plum acidity with ripe tropical fruit sweetness, quite balanced acidity and sweetness, and a varied, lingering aftertaste.

Brewing analysis:

Today we introduce the commonly used method at FrontStreet Coffee for hand-brewing Front Street Colombia El Boton Estate Maragogype elephant bean coffee: the V60 three-pour method.

Split extraction, dividing all brewing water into three pours.

Suitable for light roast, light-medium roast, and medium roast coffee beans.

Use a V60 dripper.

Increasing the blooming time or the number of pauses can enhance the coffee's mouthfeel and intensity.

Split extraction with the three-pour method:

Advantages: more layered than a single continuous pour, and it can clearly bring out the front, middle, and back-end flavors of the coffee. The method is to increase the amount of water in each pour after blooming, usually pouring when the coffee liquid is about to drop to the surface of the coffee bed, using small, medium, and large streams for three-stage extraction.

Disadvantages: relatively high requirements for water flow speed and flow rate.

[Front Street Colombia El Boton Estate Maragogype elephant bean coffee hand-brewing parameter suggestions]

Brewing with a V60 dripper can enhance the layering of the hand-brewed flavor, making it richer and cleaner to drink; it fully expresses the rich fruity aroma and soft, full nutty aroma of the Maragogype variety.

15 g coffee, water temperature 89-90°C, grind BG 5R (64% passing through China standard No. 20 sieve), water-to-coffee ratio close to 1:15.

Method: bloom with 30 g water for 30 s. Using the center of the dripper as the pivot, pour hot water from the gooseneck kettle in clockwise circles. Start timing when brewing begins, pour to 30 g, then stop pouring and wait 30 seconds for the first pour.

For the first pour, circle as before, but slightly slower. When moving to the outer ring, speed up a little, stop pouring at about 1:15, and wait until the liquid level drops by 1/3 before pouring again. The second pour is concentrated in the center; do not let the stream hit where the coffee grounds meet the filter paper, to avoid channeling. Finish extraction at about 2:05. The tail end can be discarded (the longer it drags on, the more astringency and rough mouthfeel increase).

Pours: 30-125-230 g

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