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Costa Rica Coffee Processing: Why Honey-Processed Beans Taste So Sweet

September 10, 2019
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How Does Coffee Processing Create Costa Rica's Honey Sweetness?

Costa Rica's honey-processed coffee earns its reputation for honey-like sweetness through a method that keeps part of the mucilage layer on the parchment bean during drying. How much mucilage remains decides the final sweetness and body. Costa Rican law also limits farmers to Arabica varieties and bans Robusta, so quality control starts at the variety level.

Volcanic soil and high-altitude growing regions support those varieties, and the country has built one of the more organized coffee industries in the region. Coffee processing there is graded by mucilage retention, giving categories such as black honey, golden honey, yellow honey, red honey, and white honey. Raisin anaerobic honey processing extends those sweet profiles further, and representative beans include the Musician Series, Fire Phoenix Sapphire, Rum Sudan, and Geisha.

Costa Rican honey-processed coffee has always been renowned for its honey-like sweetness, and Front Street Coffee has featured it as a signature pour-over since 2013. Although this Central American country is not the largest producer, its legally mandated cultivation of Arabica, its exceptional volcanic soil and high-altitude growing regions, and its masterful honey processing techniques have created elegant and sweet coffee flavors. This article will systematically review, from Front Street's perspective, Costa Rica's producing regions, common varieties, processing methods such as honey processing and raisin anaerobic honey processing, and recommend several representative coffee beans including the Musician Series, Fire Phoenix Sapphire, Rum Sudan, and Geisha.

Why Does Costa Rican Honey-Processed Coffee Have Outstanding Sweetness? Revealing Regional Varieties, Processing Methods, and Import Status

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If one were to choose a coffee with honey-like sweetness, Costa Rica would certainly rank among the top. When Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) opened its first store in 2013, it introduced Costa Rican honey-processed coffee beans, and that sweet flavor is still unforgettable to this day. For many years, it has remained a signature pour-over frequently ordered by customers who favor sweet coffee. Today, Front Street will talk with you about Costa Rican coffee.

Costa Rican Coffee

Costa Rica is located in southern Central America, with an annual coffee production ranking seventh in Central and South America. To this day, the country's coffee industry has become one of the most organized in the world, with production reaching 1,700 kilograms. What Front Street finds most interesting is that Costa Rican law explicitly stipulates that farmers may only cultivate Arabica varieties, and Robusta is prohibited within the country. This shows the government's emphasis on coffee quality. Coffee farmers enjoy high status locally, and naturally they strictly control quality, otherwise they would be ruining their own reputation.

After reading "World Coffeeology," Front Street also learned that Costa Rica was the first country in Central America to cultivate coffee for commercial value. The wealth brought by coffee provided support for the country's political, economic, and democratic stability, which is rare in turbulent Central America. Because of this, Costa Rica's coffee craftsmanship is extremely advanced—whether in breeding, cultivation, or processing—and has been referenced by the coffee industries of many countries. It has also been praised by the British royal family as "golden beans."

Costa Rican Producing Regions

Costa Rica's outstanding coffee quality is certainly not due to technique alone. Front Street often says that excellent coffee depends on exceptional growing altitude and environment (i.e., producing region), coffee variety, and processing method. So Front Street will first discuss producing regions.

Costa Rica has eight main producing regions: Valley Central Occidental, Valley Central, Tarrazu, Tres Rios, Orosi, Brunca, and Turrialba.

Among these, Tarrazu produces the most well-known coffee beans. Nearly all of Front Street's Costa Rican coffee beans come from here, and it also has the highest altitude among the eight regions. In addition, Costa Rica's volcanic soil is fertile with good drainage, especially in the Central Plateau, where the soil contains continuous layers of thick volcanic ash and dust. The reason Front Street emphasizes these conditions as beneficial to coffee trees is that volcanic soil is rich in organic matter, providing ample nutrients for coffee trees. The higher the altitude, the higher the sweetness of the coffee beans, and naturally the brewed coffee flavor is more elegant.

Below are the altitudes of Costa Rica's eight major producing regions:

Tarrazu: coffee growing altitude 1300-2000m.

Tres Rios: coffee growing altitude 1400-1800m.

Valley Central Occidental: coffee growing altitude 1200-1650m.

Valley Central: coffee growing altitude 1200-1600m.

Orosi: coffee growing altitude 900-1200m.

Brunca: coffee growing altitude 800-1200m.

Turrialba: coffee growing altitude 600-900m.

Costa Rican Coffee Varieties

Next, let's talk about the coffee varieties mentioned earlier. Currently, all specialty coffee on the market belongs to the Arabica species, which has lower caffeine content and excellent flavor, making it active in the specialty coffee market and the most widely cultivated variety among coffee farmers worldwide, accounting for about 75% of total world coffee production. The Robusta species mentioned earlier, which is banned in Costa Rica, is mostly used for instant coffee. Its caffeine content is twice that of Arabica, and its flavor is more bitter, making it unsuitable for specialty coffee.

Why Does Costa Rican Honey-Processed Coffee Have Outstanding Sweetness? Revealing Regional Varieties, Processing Methods, and Import Status

Many varieties have derived from Arabica, such as those Front Street will introduce next, which often appear on Costa Rican coffee bean labels, including Bourbon, Caturra, Catuai, Villa Sarchi, Villalobos, and others.

Bourbon

Bourbon mutated from Typica and, along with Typica, is one of the oldest existing coffee varieties. The fruit turns bright red when ripe. Compared to Typica, Bourbon has broader leaves and denser growth. Although its yield is higher than Typica, its harvest cycle is also two years, still making it a low-yield variety. However, it has excellent taste, with acidity resembling red wine and a sweet aftertaste.

Caturra

Caturra is a single-gene mutation of Bourbon, discovered in Brazil in 1937. Its productivity and disease resistance are both superior to Bourbon. The tree is shorter, making harvesting easier, but like Bourbon, it has the problem of fluctuating yields every two years. Its flavor is comparable to or slightly inferior to Bourbon. Its most prominent advantage is its strong adaptability—it requires no shade trees and grows vigorously even under direct sun exposure. Commonly known as sun-grown coffee, it is suitable for high-density planting, but requires more fertilizer, increasing costs. Therefore, it was not widely accepted by early coffee farmers.

Catuai

Catuai is an Arabica hybrid variety, bred from a cross between Mundo Novo and Caturra. It has strong resistance to natural disasters, especially wind and rain. It inherited the advantage of Caturra's low tree height and eliminated the shortcomings of Mundo Novo. Another advantage is that its fruit holds firmly and does not easily fall even in strong winds, compensating for the fragility of Arabica fruit. However, its overall flavor is more monotonous than Caturra, and also more monotonous than Mundo Novo with a lack of body—this is its greatest regret. In addition, its fruit-bearing lifespan is only about ten years, and its short lifespan is another weakness.

Why Does Costa Rican Honey-Processed Coffee Have Outstanding Sweetness? Revealing Regional Varieties, Processing Methods, and Import Status

Villa Sarchi

Villa Sarchi is a mutation of Bourbon. This green-tipped dwarf natural mutation was discovered in Costa Rica in 1950, followed by pedigree selection (selecting individual plants through successive generations). However, this variety was not widely planted in Costa Rica. Instead, it was introduced to Honduras in 1974 by the Honduran Coffee Institute (IHCAFE). Its aroma complexity is quite high, suitable for medium-dark roasting. The dry fragrance after grinding carries perfume-like nectar and cherry aromas, mixed with cinnamon-like sweet spice notes.

Vilalobos

Villalobos originated in Costa Rica and is a mutation of Typica. Like Typica, its branches and trunk form a 60-degree angle, and its leaves are bronze-colored. This variety grows particularly well at high altitudes, has strong wind resistance, and can grow in poor soil. It performs even better with shade trees. In terms of taste, its most notable characteristics are excellent sweetness and beautiful acidity.

Costa Rican Processing Methods

Another factor affecting coffee flavor is the processing method. As mentioned earlier, Costa Rica's honey processing techniques can be described as masterful. Honey processing, known in English as Honey Process or Miel Process, called Honey Coffee, refers to the process of making green beans by drying coffee cherries with the mucilage (also called pectin) still attached in the sun. After removing the outer pulp of the coffee cherry, a sticky gelatinous substance (pectin) remains. Traditional washed methods use clean water to wash it off, but some high-altitude producing regions are limited by water resources, so this direct sun-drying method was born.

Costa Rican honey-processed coffee beans retain the cleanliness of washed processing. Although brightness decreases somewhat, sweetness and caramel mouthfeel increase. Front Street also concluded through cupping and brewing evaluations that the difference between honey-processed and washed-processed coffee is that honey-processed coffee has higher sweetness, higher sugar content, and relatively higher body.

Depending on the degree of honey processing, it is further divided into yellow honey, red honey, and black honey.

Yellow Honey: about 40% of pectin is removed; the drying method requires the most direct heat absorption and maximum sunlight exposure, lasting about 8 days until moisture content reaches a stable value.

Red Honey: about 25% of pectin is removed; compared to yellow honey, the drying time is longer, and direct sunlight exposure time is reduced, sometimes even using shade covers, lasting about 12 days.

Black Honey: nearly 80% of pectin is retained; the drying time is the longest, lasting at least two weeks, using covers to avoid excessive sunlight and prevent drying too quickly, allowing sugar conversion to be more complete.

The advantage of honey processing is that it preserves the original sweet flavor of ripe coffee cherries to the greatest extent, giving the coffee a delicate brown sugar flavor and stone fruit sweetness. Berry flavors also inspire red-wine-based aromas, making it considered a very elegant product.

The biggest difference between honey processing and Brazilian semi-washed is that the former does not touch water at all, so only flawless red cherries must be selected for the pectin to be sweet. Honey processing also demands more from the pectin removal machine, which must precisely control the thickness of pectin removal, just like a grinder. But failed honey-processed coffee will carry strong defective sun-dried flavors, resembling the onion, durian, and fermented tofu notes of rough natural processing. In more severe cases, it may even develop alcohol or medicinal flavors. Properly honey-processed coffee has soft acidity; if it makes you pucker upon tasting, it is also not a good product.

Why Does Costa Rican Honey-Processed Coffee Have Outstanding Sweetness? Revealing Regional Varieties, Processing Methods, and Import Status

Simple summary:

Sweetness: Black Honey > Red Honey > Yellow Honey

Cleanliness: Yellow Honey > Red Honey > Black Honey

Balance: Red Honey = Yellow Honey > Black Honey

Below, we will also introduce a raisin anaerobic honey processing method unique to Costa Rica.

Surely some coffee enthusiast friends will ask Front Street, what is the difference between this and regular honey processing? It is simply drying coffee cherries to a raisin-like state, then removing the pulp for honey processing fermentation. In terms of flavor, the fermentation character is more intense, and the pectin retention is higher than other honey processes, claiming to be 100% pectin honey processing, and indeed it truly has raisin flavors. This is a quite sweet processing method. According to Front Street's cupping, it has a white wine-like mouthfeel and balanced acidity. In terms of flavor, the fermentation character is more intense, and pectin retention is higher than other honey processes, with flavors similar to sweet wine, honey, dried apricot, raisins, peaches, and more.

Surely beginner coffee enthusiasts are curious about what washed processing and natural processing are. These two processing methods often appear on Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) bean bag labels. They are actually the most common coffee processing methods. The flavor difference between the two is: washed-processed coffee beans have a cleaner and more refreshing flavor, presenting the basic flavor of a producing region, and are also the starting point for understanding a region's flavor. Therefore, Front Street specifically created a coffee that best represents the flavor of Costa Rica's Tarrazu for beginner coffee enthusiasts to try; while natural processing, due to the fermentation process, adds sweet aroma and fermentation character on top of the basic flavor.

Washed Processing Steps

1. Harvesting. After picking ripe coffee cherries, first remove impurities and defective beans and screen out floating beans—up to this point, same as natural processing. 2. Pulping. Send fresh cherries into a pulping machine to remove the skin and pulp. Unripe cherries are difficult to separate from their pulp and will be screened out at this stage. After the pulping machine, what remains is pectin, parchment, and seeds. 3. Fermentation to remove pectin. Move the seeds with pectin still attached after pulping into fermentation tanks. Although called washed processing, it does not actually wash away pectin with water but uses biological decomposition through fermentation to remove pectin. Fermentation lasts about 16-36 hours, during which the beans must be stirred frequently to accelerate pectin separation from the seeds. Washed fermentation produces acidic substances such as citric acid, malic acid, and acetic acid. These acids penetrate the green beans, making washed beans more acidic than natural beans. After fermentation is complete, the actual washing occurs—washing the beans again. 4. Drying. After washing, the beans also need sun-drying or machine drying to reduce moisture content to 12%. Washed processing has already removed the pulp, so the drying process does not require the same worry about mold as natural processing. The dried parchment green beans are also not as hard as natural-processed beans with pulp and skin still attached, and can be hulled using a hulling machine to obtain green beans.

Natural Processing Steps

1. Harvest ripe coffee cherries

2. Initially remove impurities and defective beans

3. Screen floating beans: Pour coffee cherries into a water tank. Ripe, plump cherries will sink to the bottom, while unripe or defective cherries will float to the surface.

4. Sun drying: Scoop out the ripe coffee cherries that sank to the bottom of the tank and spread them on a drying patio for sun drying, reducing moisture from 70% to about 10-12%. They must be turned several times daily for even drying, and covered at night to prevent moisture damage.

5. Removing the husk: After about two to four weeks of sun drying, the outer layer of the coffee seeds has dried and hardened. At this point, use a hulling machine to remove the husk and the process is complete.

6. Packaging and shipping: The hulled coffee beans are packaged in bags, which is what we generally call green beans. Finally, through different roasting processes and brewing variations, coffee can present millions of flavor variations.

The above are some factors affecting coffee flavor. Next, Front Street will introduce some of Costa Rica's more famous coffees.

Costa Rica Canet Estate Musician Series Coffee Beans

First and foremost, the Costa Rican Musician Series coffee beans must be mentioned. Canet Estate is located in Tarrazu, Costa Rica. According to Front Street's understanding, the Musician Series came about because the estate owner is very passionate about classical music and would distinguish which coffee bean feels like which musician based on the flavors produced by different processing methods, thus naming the coffee beans accordingly. The Musician Series was born this way, consisting of four coffee beans, all named after musical geniuses: Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, and Chopin. The flavors of these coffee beans are indeed like dancing musical notes, very moving.

Front Street Costa Rica Mozart Coffee Beans

Country: Costa Rica

Region: Tarrazu

Altitude: 1800m

Variety: Caturra, Catuai

Processing: Raisin Honey Process

Flavor: Raisin acidity, berries, floral, fermented wine aroma

Mozart is hailed as the child prodigy who epitomized classical music, famous for his magnificent classical compositions. The magnificent aroma of this Mozart coffee bean refers to its elegant floral fragrance, similar to orange blossom-like white flower notes, which Front Street can also perceive when brewing. The magnificent mouthfeel refers to Mozart coffee having more dark berry, raisin, and slight red berry flavors, with a touch of plum acidity and gummy bear-like sweetness in the middle and finish; after cooling, it still retains floral and sweet notes. The flavor is very unique, and one can indeed experience a magnificent mouthfeel.

Front Street Costa Rica Bach Coffee Beans

Country: Costa Rica

Region: Tarrazu

Altitude: 1950m

Variety: Caturra

Processing: Raisin Honey Process

Flavor: Fermented wine aroma, berries, fruit tea notes

Bach's music is refined, richly layered, yet clear and well-organized. The dry fragrance of this coffee bean carries strawberry, blackberry, raisin, and other fruity aromas, and fruity notes also waft out during brewing. When Front Street first brewed it, obvious floral and fruity aromas emerged, and upon tasting, one can feel rich fruit aromas and sweet-tartness, with a slight wine aroma in the middle and finish, like red wine. After cooling, it carries candied fruit sweetness, the wine aroma becomes more pronounced, and one can even taste plum wine notes. Such a refined taste experience is indeed like Bach's music. Front Street believes that every sip of Bach coffee is like being in the grandeur and rigor of Baroque aesthetics.

Front Street Costa Rica Beethoven Coffee Beans

Country: Costa Rica

Region: Tarrazu

Altitude: 1800-1950m

Variety: Caturra, Catuai

Processing: Washed Process

Flavor: Citrus, berries, floral, light fermented wine aroma

The most famous Romantic-era classical musician is none other than Beethoven, and coffee beans that evoke Beethoven's music naturally have outstanding flavors. The dry fragrance has obvious red berries, with strawberry being the most prominent, and it also emits floral notes. During brewing, one can sense floral notes, nectar-like sweet fragrance, and green grapes. After Front Street's Beethoven coffee is brewed and tasted, there is a sweet-tartness of green grapes and red berries, overall clean and smooth. After cooling, the red berries become more prominent. Some coffee enthusiasts who have tasted it at Front Street's store even said this is a coffee with summery romantic sentiment.

Front Street notes in passing that unlike the raisin honey processing of other Musician Series coffees, Beethoven uses washed processing to achieve a clean and refreshing summer taste. Therefore, Front Street highly recommends coffee enthusiasts drink this Beethoven coffee in summer for a different taste experience.

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) Costa Rica Chopin Coffee Beans

Country: Costa Rica

Region: Tarrazu Altitude: 1800-1900m Variety: Catuai

Processing: Raisin Honey Process

Flavor: Rose, raisin, berries, fruit tea

Chopin is hailed as the "Romantic piano poet." Canet Estate's Chopin coffee bean releases an intoxicating rose aroma as soon as it is opened. Roses are the very expression of romance. When Front Street brews it, this rose fragrance becomes even sweeter with the steam, as if being in a sea of roses. Tasting it reveals the sweet-tartness of raisins and berries, with an aftertaste like fruit tea. Front Street believes the overall flavor progression is like Chopin's romantic piano pieces, unfolding step by step—truly romantic and deserving of its name.

The above are Costa Rica's most famous Musician Series coffee beans. Front Street's store also carries a coffee bean from the Tarrazu region, which is Front Street's daily drinking coffee, also with excellent value for money. Coffee enthusiasts interested in Costa Rican coffee may want to give it a try.

Front Street Costa Rica Tarrazu Coffee Beans

Country: Costa Rica

Region: Tarrazu

Altitude: 1950m

Variety: Caturra

Processing: Washed

Flavor: Sweet orange, nuts, honey

Next are some high-quality coffees from other estates in other Costa Rican producing regions. Before listing each coffee bean, Front Street conducts extensive data cupping and brewing evaluations, so the following coffee beans are also carefully selected specialty coffees by Front Street, naturally with excellent flavors. Below, Front Street will introduce these Costa Rican coffee beans.

Why Does Costa Rican Honey-Processed Coffee Have Outstanding Sweetness? Revealing Regional Varieties, Processing Methods, and Import Status

Front Street Costa Rica Fire Phoenix Sapphire Coffee Beans

Country: Costa Rica

Region: Central Valley (Fire Phoenix Estate)

Altitude: 1300-1500m

Variety: Caturra, Catuai

Processing: Natural Process

Flavor: Strawberry, tropical fruit, mint, honey, cocoa, fermented aroma

According to Front Street's understanding, Fire Phoenix Estate is located in the hilly area of Poas Volcano in Costa Rica's Central Valley. It is one of the earliest estates in Central and South America to begin honey processing and natural coffee production, and is also an organically farmed coffee estate. The estate owner believes that organic farming is a better choice for environmental conservation and family health, and despite facing many technical and management challenges, still adheres to this belief.

Front Street also learned that when picking coffee cherries, they use a Brix meter, common in the wine industry, to measure the sugar content of the fruit, determining the optimal harvest timing and processing method based on Brix sugar content. Only cherries exceeding 20% sweetness undergo natural processing. The Brix values of common fruits are: apple 14, lemon 12, passion fruit 18, while Fire Phoenix's coffee cherries can reach 21-22%. Therefore, the brewed coffee is exceptionally sweet.

The estate also places great emphasis on environmentally friendly processing concepts (such as collecting rainwater for coffee processing) and uses vermiculture (worm composting) to produce organic compost, ensuring no chemical fertilizers or pesticides are used in the growing process. The natural processing of Sapphire (Zahiro) is quite labor-intensive: hand-picked high-sugar cherries are first placed on African raised beds for sun drying for about 10 days, then moved into a large covered shed with plastic sheeting to create more direct heat energy and continue drying until moisture content drops to 11.5%. The slow drying process allows the green beans to develop more natural sweetness from within, but also requires more careful attention and constant turning. In the end, the bright red cherries turn black, emitting aromas of fruit cake, brown sugar, and even sherry!

Front Street Costa Rica Rum Sudan Coffee Beans

Country: Costa Rica

Region: Rum Valley

Altitude: 1250-1380m

Variety: Rum Sudan

Processing: Washed Process

Flavor: Citrus, berries, oolong tea, cane sugar

Rum Sudan was discovered in the 1940s in the Rum Valley of the Boma Plateau in southeastern South Sudan, near the Ethiopian border. It is one of the native species of Arabica coffee and also belongs to Ethiopian heirloom varieties. This is a wild, ancient coffee variety. In coffee genealogy, Rum Sudan has a longer history than Typica and Bourbon.

According to materials Front Street consulted, Rum Sudan is known in the coffee world by the code RS-510, characterized mainly by bronze-colored leaves. When breeders need to create new coffee varieties, RS-510 can be said to be the best Arabica genetic resource. For example, by crossbreeding the genes of high-yield but poor-flavor varieties with RS-510, one can usually obtain varieties with good flavor and better yield, because RS-510's flavor is exceptionally stunning, but its disease resistance is average and its yield is very low.

Why Does Costa Rican Honey-Processed Coffee Have Outstanding Sweetness? Revealing Regional Varieties, Processing Methods, and Import Status

Therefore, crossbreeding RS-510 with higher-yielding varieties allows coffee farmers to obtain new hybrids with high yield and strong disease resistance. Many well-known modern varieties, such as Castillo, Centroamericano, or Colombia, were developed using this technique.

However, according to Front Street's understanding, Rum Sudan has low yield and is relatively difficult to cultivate, requiring more daily care. Therefore, in the past, few estates conducted large-scale commercial planting; it was basically used for variety development to obtain better plant disease resistance and coffee flavor. It was not until 2015, when Rum Sudan won the World Barista Championship (WBC) in the hands of Australian representative Sasa Sestic, that overnight Rum Sudan became a coffee variety that roasters and baristas rushed to roast and brew.

Costa Rican Geisha Coffee

Of course, because many small producing regions in Costa Rica have different microclimates, creating subtle differences in coffee flavor, coffee varieties also flourish in diversity. Next, Front Street will discuss estates in Costa Rica that produce Geisha. Coffee enthusiasts all know that Panama's Hacienda La Esmeralda Geisha is the most famous, so how is the quality of Costa Rican Geisha coffee beans? Actually, in Front Street's view, Costa Rican Geisha should not be underestimated either. For example, Costa Rica's La Candelilla Estate is known for producing some of the world's best Geisha coffee.

Front Street Costa Rica La Candelilla Estate Geisha

Country: Costa Rica

Region: La Candelilla Estate

Altitude: 1750m

Variety: Geisha

Processing: Washed Process

Flavor: Lemon, jasmine, honey, green tea

La Candelilla Estate is an award-winning Costa Rican CoE estate. Costa Rican Geisha coffee beans are a relatively young variety at the estate, and due to different terroir and microclimates, they produce different Costa Rican Geisha coffee flavors, but equally refined. Rich acidity with a long finish. Carries obvious almond, plum, citrus, sweet floral, and berry aromas. La Candelilla, translated as "little candle," is named after the fireflies that light up nearby streams on summer nights.

According to materials Front Street consulted, La Candelilla Estate is run by Hugo and his daughter Marcia. They built it together in 2000, with products coming from a blend of all Caturra and Catuai varieties across nine farms. Since its founding in 2000, La Candelilla Estate has also been nominated for numerous awards. Front Street also has a naturally processed Geisha from Mirazu Estate that is also of excellent quality, and coffee enthusiasts who have tasted it at Front Street have praised it highly. So Front Street will talk about the charm of this Geisha coffee bean!

Front Street Costa Rica Mirazu Estate Natural Geisha

Country: Costa Rica

Region: Tarrazu

Altitude: 1700m

Variety: Geisha

Processing: Natural Process

Flavor: Strawberry, white peach, cinnamon, jasmine

According to Front Street's understanding, the owner of Mirazu Estate is an agricultural PhD who is very skilled in processing and post-harvest processing. He later fulfilled his dream by establishing his own processing facility and estate, growing many different varieties on the farm. Mirazu Natural Geisha coffee has a light floral fragrance and mild ripe fruit aroma. Brown sugar and stone fruit notes bring out full sweetness, so Front Street considers this the top choice for an entry-level Geisha.

Costa Rican Geisha Variety

Front Street's Costa Rican Geisha coffee beans are original species within the Arabica species, extremely picky about growing environment, requiring high altitude, cloud cover for shade, fertile soil, and sufficient accumulated heat.

The Geisha variety was discovered in 1931 in the Geisha forest of Ethiopia, then sent to the Coffee Research Institute in Kenya. It was introduced to Uganda and Tanzania in 1936; and to Costa Rica in 1953.

According to Front Street's understanding, what makes Mirazu Estate's Geisha different from Panama Geisha is that it is neither double anaerobic fermented nor washed, but naturally processed. As Front Street mentioned earlier, naturally processed coffee beans have a sweeter flavor with fermentation character than washed ones. Therefore, its flavor expression perfectly matches the sweetness of Costa Rican coffee flavor—sweet upon sweet—very distinctive. So Front Street also highly recommends that coffee enthusiasts who love sweetness must not miss this Mirazu Estate Natural Geisha!

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

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