What gives Costa Rican Geisha coffee beans their sweetness?
Costa Rican Geisha coffee beans draw sweetness from the volcanic soil, altitude and microclimates of the Tarrazu region, combined with the variety itself. Two lots illustrate the range: La Candelilla Estate, processed washed, and Mirazu Estate, processed as raisin honey. Washed lots read cleaner and more floral; the honey method adds fruit density and a rounder, sweeter finish, so the two estates drink very differently in the cup.
Processing and roasting decide how much of that potential survives to the brew. At the green coffee bean stage, honey processing leaves mucilage sugars on the parchment, which the roast then has to develop without flattening the aromatics. A V60 three-pour recipe, moderate water temperature and a medium grind keep the floral top notes and layered fruit acidity intact while the sweetness stays in balance.
The Geisha variety traveled from Ethiopia to the world, rose to prominence in Panama, and then took root in the high-altitude regions of Central America. Costa Rica, with the volcanic soil and microclimate of the Tarrazu region, has become an important stronghold for Geisha cultivation. Front Street Coffee focuses this time on two Geisha products, from La Candelilla Estate and Mirazu Estate, processed respectively by washed and raisin honey methods, with completely different flavor profiles. This article will systematically sort out the causes of sweetness and brewing key points of Costa Rican Geisha, from terroir, variety composition, green bean processing, roasting curves to V60 three-pour brewing, to help you make a choice based on your taste preference.
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Geisha coffee beans originated in Ethiopia and later shone brilliantly in Panama. With fascinating floral aromas and layered fruity acidity, they have always stood at the forefront of the specialty coffee wave. This variety has also attracted many countries with high-altitude conditions to introduce and cultivate it. Whether it is its place of origin, Ethiopia, or Costa Rica, which is rich in volcanic soil resources, both are continuously conducting research on Geisha cultivation. Front Street Coffee has also purchased many Geisha coffee beans produced in Costa Rica, among which the most representative are La Candelilla Estate Geisha and the Mirazu Estate Geisha blend. Below, let's talk about what makes Costa Rican Geisha coffee beans so unique.
Costa Rican Geisha coffee beans are mainly grown in the Tarrazu coffee region
The Tarrazu region is located in the fertile volcanic zone of Central America, with a humid climate, nutrient-rich volcanic rock soil, stable and abundant annual rainfall, high altitude, and natural shade provided by dense forests, creating extremely ideal growing conditions for coffee trees. Although many coffee estates are located within the Tarrazu region, the microclimate, soil conditions, and variety differences of each estate are reflected quite completely in the cup. It is precisely these subtle variations bestowed by nature that drive Front Street to continuously seek different coffee beans within the same region for horizontal comparison.
Let's first talk about Mirazu Estate
The name Mirazu means "overlooking Tarrazu from afar." The estate is located at about 1,700 meters above sea level in Tarrazu, with extremely magnificent scenery. The microclimate environment selected by the owner for the estate was carefully considered, which laid a solid foundation for the quality of coffee beans produced by Mirazu. Mirazu Estate is adjacent to La Candelilla Estate. The owner, Esteban Sanches, is actually one of the founding members of La Candelilla Estate. He has a formal academic background, a scientific and experimental spirit, and a strong interest in coffee variety research, so he opened Mirazu Estate not far away to try growing varieties such as ET47 Ethiopian heirloom and to experiment with various processing methods. In addition, the small wet-processing equipment at the estate's processing plant was designed and assembled entirely by Esteban Sanches himself.
Next, let's talk about La Candelilla Estate
The name La Candelilla comes from a group of shining fireflies. The area around La Candelilla Estate has abundant water and high humidity, and the coffee trees in the estate provide fireflies with a well-shaded habitat. The estate is located in the Tarrazu region of Costa Rica, at an altitude of about 1,750 meters. The Tarrazu region has fertile volcanic soil, mild and comfortable temperatures, and stable and abundant rainfall, providing very superior growing conditions for coffee trees in the area. The microclimate of La Candelilla Estate is very favorable for coffee growth. The temperature difference between day and night helps the coffee fruit accumulate nutrients more fully, thereby forming more refined flavors. Front Street believes that this high altitude and significant temperature difference are exactly the environment that Geisha coffee trees prefer. The temperature difference slows the growth rate of coffee trees, prolonging the time for flavor formation, and ultimately the brewed coffee tastes richer. The fresh flavor presented by high-altitude Geisha is difficult to replicate in Geisha grown at low altitudes.
Coffee variety
Front Street mentioned at the beginning that this bean from Mirazu Estate is a Geisha blend. As long as the beans come from the same origin, the same estate, or a cooperative, they can all be classified as single-origin coffee. This Mirazu Estate Geisha blend purchased by Front Street is composed of Geisha, ET47, SL28, and Maico. It is worth mentioning the ET47 variety. Its number in the laboratory is No. 47. Because many varieties were introduced during the same period, most were distinguished and identified by numbers. After obtaining ET47, estate owner Esteban Sanches devoted himself to studying it. This variety can be called a complex综合体, carrying multiple excellent flavors, such as fruity sweetness, a round and clean mouthfeel, and elegant and pleasant acidity. As for what exactly ET47's "ancestors" are, the Costa Rican Coffee Institute has not yet announced it to this day.
Since the topic of this article is Costa Rican Geisha coffee beans, an introduction to the Geisha variety itself is naturally indispensable. Geisha was first collected from the coffee forests of Ethiopia in the 1930s. In 1953, it was introduced to the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE) in Central America, where it was recorded as T2722. However, the branches of this plant break easily and were not favored by farmers, so it was not widely planted.
Green coffee bean processing methods
The La Candelilla Estate Geisha coffee beans purchased by Front Street Coffee use the washed processing method. In order to highlight the bright acidity and floral characteristics of this bean, the estate owner chose to process the green beans by washing. The specific process is: send the selected coffee cherries into the pulper, first removing the skin and pulp; the green coffee beans with residual pulp and mucilage are placed in water and fermented for about 24 hours; after fermentation is complete, the green beans with parchment are moved into a flowing water channel for washing to remove pulp and mucilage; after washing, they are sun-dried or dried with a dryer to reduce the moisture content to about 12%. Finally, the parchment of the green beans is removed.
The Mirazu Geisha blend coffee beans purchased by Front Street Coffee use the raisin honey processing method. The estate owner first screens the harvested coffee cherries, places the selected coffee cherries on raised beds to dry for at least three days, then removes the skin while retaining the mucilage, and then dries them. During the drying process, the coffee beans need to be constantly turned to ensure even drying. At the same time, the turning frequency must be well controlled so that the coffee dries slowly, ensuring sufficient fermentation, but not so slowly that it over-ferments. Through cupping, Front Street Coffee found that the raisin honey process retains 100% of the mucilage for sun drying, the coffee's sweetness is very high, and it also carries a preserved-fruit-like fermented sweetness.
Front Street Coffee roasting records
Mirazu Geisha blend coffee beans: Yangjia 800N, charge amount 480g. Preheat the drum to 200°C, then lower to 175°C for charging, adjust the gas to 120, open the airflow to 3, turning point 1'32", maintain the gas; at 114°C keep the gas unchanged and open the airflow to 4. At 6'15" it turns yellow, the grassy smell disappears, and it enters the dehydration stage. At 140°C, lower the gas to 100 and keep the airflow at 4. At 9'00" dehydration is complete, the bean surface wrinkles and shows dark streaks, the toast smell turns into coffee aroma, and it enters the prelude to first crack. At this time, pay attention to listening for the sound of first crack. At 10'25" first crack begins, open the airflow fully to 5, and keep the gas unchanged. After first crack, develop for 1'30", and drop at 193.5°C.
La Candelilla Estate Geisha coffee beans: Yangjia 800N, charge amount 480g. Charge at a drum temperature of 180°C, gas 130, open the airflow to 3; turning point 1'32", when the drum temperature is 130°C open the airflow to 4, keep the gas unchanged; when the drum temperature is 151.6°C the bean surface turns yellow, the grassy smell completely disappears, and it enters the dehydration stage. At 7'56", the bean surface wrinkles and shows dark streaks, the toast smell clearly turns into coffee aroma, which can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this time, listen clearly for the sound of the first crack. At 8'30" first crack begins, open the airflow to 5, after first crack develop for 1'28", and drop at 190°C.
Front Street Coffee brewing comparison
In order to compare the flavor performance of the two coffee beans more clearly, Front Street uniformly used a V60 dripper, 15g of coffee grounds, a 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio, 90°C water temperature, and a medium-fine grind size during brewing.
Front Street three-pour brewing method:
First preheat the dripper and server. Add 15 grams of coffee grounds and gently tap to level the surface of the coffee bed. For the first pour, pour 30 grams of water in a circular motion from the center outward, and let it bloom for 30 seconds. The ideal state is that the coffee grounds are evenly saturated with water and puff up into a small "coffee burger." After 30 seconds, begin the second pour. Control the height of the water stream at 3-5 cm, and pour 95 grams of water in concentric circles from the center outward. At this point, the total amount of water poured is 125 grams. Observe the surface of the coffee liquid; it should all be golden coffee foam. When the liquid level is about to expose the coffee bed, begin the final pour. In this stage, pour 100 grams of water, slowly circling in concentric circles, keeping the water flow stable. After all the coffee liquid in the dripper has flowed into the server, remove the dripper and end the extraction. The total time is 1 minute 55 seconds.
After brewing, the Geisha blend shows jasmine aroma, with raisin sweetness, strawberry gummy-like sweetness, and a nutty creamy mouthfeel on the palate; while La Candelilla Estate is much fresher, showing jasmine fragrance, lemon acidity, and a honey green tea finish. If you prefer a style with obvious sweetness, you can choose the Mirazu Estate Geisha blend coffee beans; if you want a fresher flavor, you can choose the La Candelilla Estate Geisha coffee beans.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
