The Costa Rica Musician Series has always attracted much attention in the specialty coffee circle. When Front Street Coffee first introduced this batch of beans, it was precisely because of its completely different processing approach from traditional honey processing. In the series, only Beethoven uses the washed process, and the sense of difference immediately stands out. The Yellow Catuai variety, after washing, shows a clean cup performance, exuding rich fruity aromas during brewing, with berry-like acidity and tea-like notes on the palate, while the finish leaves honey and melon-like sweetness, making it very appealing overall. This article will take you through the background of Finca Canet, the origins of the Yellow Catuai variety, and the roasting and pour-over parameters of Front Street Beethoven, helping you brew this bean even better.

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The Costa Rica Musician Series can be considered a internet-famous product in specialty coffee. The reason Front Street Coffee introduced this series is that it differs from traditional honey processing in its processing method. Among the series, only Beethoven takes the washed route, and this difference makes it stand out immediately. The Yellow Catuai variety, after washed processing, has a quite clean mouthfeel, releases rich fruity aromas during brewing, and when drinking, you can feel the berry-like acidity and tea-like notes, while the aftertaste carries honey and melon sweetness, making it very comfortable to drink.

Finca Canet is small in scale, covering only 5 hectares, located in the town of San Marcos in the Tarrazu region, owned by the family of the three Robles brothers Leo, Elian, and Melvin. They have been jointly cultivating and producing for over ten years, and they also share a small wet mill (Beneficio).

Their Musician Series includes three beans, each using different green bean processing techniques, showcasing different characteristics. This micro-lot comes from Finca Canet's Beethoven, with an altitude of up to 1900 meters. The flavor comes from its exclusive refined washed processing method, presenting a particularly high-altitude character. The variety is Yellow Catuai, a hybrid of Mundo Novo and Caturra, first successfully cultivated by Brazil's "Instituto Agronomico de Campinas" in 1949.

Yellow Catuai, like Red Catuai (Catuai Rojo), has very strong disease resistance and is suitable for planting in high-altitude and windy areas. Both Catuai varieties also carry delicate and clean acidity. By adjusting the machine, red honey processed and yellow honey processed coffee can be produced (depending on the degree of honey processing). Finca Canet is located in Costa Rica's highest-altitude Tarrazu region, which is also the area with the densest fruit cultivation in Costa Rica. The estate owner mainly grows passion fruit, and the coffee quantity is quite limited, planted only in specific areas and given special care, with only ripe red cherries picked.

Beethoven differs from other coffees in the Musician Series in its processing method; it uses the washed process. After harvesting, it first goes through a screening process to pick out underripe or overripe beans again, then removes the pulp, uses a centrifugal washing machine to remove the mucilage on the bean surface to avoid fermentation, then rinses with clean water, and finally dries on shaded raised beds for 12 to 14 days, during which it is constantly turned to ensure even drying. Washed beans have a cleaner and brighter mouthfeel.

Costa Rica — Front Street Musician Series Beethoven

Region: Tarrazu, Costa Rica

Estate: Finca Canet

Altitude: 1900m

Variety: Yellow Catuai

Processing method: Washed process

Front Street Beethoven Roasting Curve

Front Street Beethoven Coffee Brewing Tutorial

Coffee powder amount: 15g Ratio: 1:15 Grind size: fine granulated sugar Water temperature: 90℃ Filter: Kalita #01 ceramic dripper

1. Bloom with 25g water for 30 seconds, allowing the coffee bed to fully absorb water and release gas;

2. For the second pour, add water up to 120g; use a moderate height, a gentle pouring method with a small stream and a slow, steady circular motion, adopting an immersion approach to let the coffee grounds release good substances and reduce scouring of the coffee bed;

3. For the third pour, add water up to 225g; when the water level drops by 1/3, proceed with the third pour up to 225g. At this point, the water level drops relatively slowly, indicating that the fines have begun to settle at the bottom of the dripper. Slightly increase the pouring volume and circular speed to stir up the fines at the bottom, avoiding over-extraction and bitterness; total extraction time is 1 minute 56 seconds.

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