How Does the Raisin Double Fermentation Honey Process Work?
The raisin double fermentation honey process is a two-stage method used at Costa Rica's Canet Estate in Tarrazu. Ripe Yellow Catuai cherries are first shade-dried until they resemble raisins, then depulped and fermented with the mucilage layer kept almost entirely intact. The result is a cup with heavy sweetness and layered fruit rather than the clean acidity of a washed coffee.
The beans grow at 1800 to 1900 meters and reach SHB grade. Yellow Catuai, a Mundo Novo and Caturra cross bred in 1949 at Brazil's Campinas Agronomic Institute, brings disease resistance and delicate acidity to the coffee process. Expect dry aromas of cherry, plum, strawberry and jasmine, plus honey, toffee and a Darjeeling-like finish.
Located in the Tarrazu region, Canet Estate showcases the unique charm of raisin double fermentation honey processing with a Bach Mozart coffee bean. This bean uses the Yellow Catuai variety, grown at a high altitude of 1800 to 1900 meters, and reaches SHB grade. Yellow Catuai, a hybrid of Mundo Novo and Caturra, was born in 1949 at the Campinas Agronomic Institute in Brazil, combining disease resistance with a delicate and clean acidity. In processing, the coffee cherries are first shade-dried to a raisin-like state, then depulped for honey fermentation, with an extremely high pectin retention rate, claimed to be 100% pectin honey processing. The flavor profile is richly layered: the dry aroma features cherry, berry, plum, strawberry, peach, and jasmine; the wet aroma presents delicate floral and fruity sweetness, lemon citrus, and a faint wine-like acidity. On the palate, strawberry, apple, grape, and citrus interweave, accompanied by an unforgettable sweetness of honey and toffee, and a silky, lingering finish like Darjeeling black tea. Front Street Coffee recommends this bean, suitable for coffee lovers seeking complex fermentation flavors.
Front Street Coffee Costa Rica Canet Estate Bach Mozart
Country: Costa Rica
Region: Tarrazu
Variety: catuai
Estate: Canet
Process: Raisin processing method
Altitude: 1800-1900 meters
Grade: SHB
Yellow Catuai originates from a cross between Mundo Novo and Caturra, first successfully bred in 1949 by the Campinas Agronomic Institute in Brazil. Like Red Catuai, Yellow Catuai has strong disease resistance and is suitable for planting at high altitudes; both can present a delicate and clean acidity. Double fermentation honey processing, aided by machine regulation, results in a flavor richer than yellow honey, red honey, and black honey, with more prominent sweetness.
The processing flow adopts [double fermentation honey processing], which means first shade-drying the coffee cherries to a raisin-like state (to make raisins, ripe fruit should be selected, and shade-drying is preferred. The seedless raisins of Turpan, Xinjiang, China, are the most famous; the local climate is hot and dry, and the shade-drying rooms built of bricks have many holes in the walls, with wooden sticks set up inside as racks to hang ripe seedless grapes, and the hot wind passing through quickly produces high-quality raisins), then removing the peel for honey fermentation. Coffee processed this way has a more intense fermentation aroma, and the pectin retention is higher than other honey processing methods, claimed to be 100% pectin honey processing, indeed carrying a distinct raisin flavor.
In terms of flavor:
[Dry aroma]: cherry, berry, plum, strawberry, peach, jasmine
[Wet aroma]: floral and fruity, sweet and delicate, lemon, citrus, berry with a slight wine-like acidity
[Sipping]: sweet and colorful various fruits (strawberry, apple, grape, citrus flavors revealed in multiple layers), the taste of honey and toffee is unforgettable, silky creamy delicate mouthfeel (like the long lingering finish of Darjeeling black tea)
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
