How Does Luckin Coffee Use Finca El Paraiso Beans?
Luckin Coffee launched a Small Black Cup Finca El Paraiso SOE, drawing fresh attention to the Colombian estate. Finca El Paraiso sits in Cauca at about 2,050 meters and is run by Diego Samuel, who took over a 2.5-hectare family farm in 2008. Its Castillo beans go through double anaerobic washed processing, giving notes of mugwort, berries, spices, and strawberry jam.
The estate first drew notice around 2019 for its Strawberry and Cherry Blossom lots. Front Street chose the Cherry Blossom beans as a representative example. Understanding the coffee bean process helps explain why these flavors emerge, and the article also covers roasting data plus brewing suggestions for anyone using the beans as an SOE.
Luckin Coffee's recent launch of the Small Black Cup Finca El Paraiso SOE has brought this Colombian estate into the public eye. As early as 2019, Finca El Paraiso made a name for itself in the specialty coffee circle with its special processing methods, and its Cherry Blossom series and Strawberry series are especially sought after. The Colombia Finca El Paraiso Cherry Blossom coffee beans selected by Front Street Coffee use the Castillo variety with double anaerobic washed processing, presenting unique flavors of mugwort, berries, spices, and strawberry jam. This article will guide you through the estate's background, variety characteristics, and processing details, share Front Street's roasting data and brewing suggestions, and finally discuss how this bean performs as an SOE, for coffee lovers' reference.
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Luckin Coffee recently launched a Small Black Cup Finca El Paraiso SOE, making Finca El Paraiso a hot topic all at once. So what is the background of this estate? Why did Luckin choose it? What characteristics do its coffee beans have? Front Street answers these one by one below.
Finca El Paraiso has actually long been somewhat well known in the specialty coffee field. Around 2019, it gained recognition in China's specialty coffee market through several beans with special processing methods. Among the estate's more sought-after products are the Strawberry series and Cherry Blossom series, and Front Street happened to select Front Street Colombia Cherry Blossom as the representative work of Finca El Paraiso.
Front Street Colombia Finca El Paraiso Cherry Blossom Coffee Beans
Country: Colombia Region: Cauca (Finca El Paraiso) Altitude: 2050m Variety: Castillo Processing Method: Double Anaerobic Washed Flavor: Mugwort, berries, fermented aroma, spices, strawberry jam
Finca El Paraiso
Finca El Paraiso is located in Cauca Department, Colombia. According to Front Street, the estate began being managed by Mr. Diego Samuel in 2008 and was initially just a small family estate of 2.5 hectares. The estate owner invested the surplus from each year's harvest into coffee agricultural research, continuously exploring how to better present specialty flavors.
In 2015, he participated in a local regional competition for the first time, and Colombia Finca El Paraiso coffee beans won the championship. After becoming famous overnight, he gained industry recognition, which also gave him more drive to promote specialty coffee cultivation. At present, Colombia Finca El Paraiso coffee beans cover varieties such as Bourbon, Laurina, Geisha, and Castillo, and there are plans to try more new categories.
Front Street Colombia Finca El Paraiso Cherry Blossom Coffee Bean Variety ---Castillo
The Front Street Finca El Paraiso Cherry Blossom coffee beans introduced by Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) are of the Castillo variety. Castillo is a variety developed by Colombia's coffee research institution in 2005 based on enhancing plant disease resistance, and it is currently widely promoted in Colombia. According to Front Street, Castillo is the result of five generations of crossbreeding and selection between Timor and Caturra, while Timor is the product of a natural cross between Arabica and Robusta, with tall plants and resistance to leaf rust.
Caturra originates from a natural mutation of the Bourbon variety, with shorter plants and higher yield than Typica and Bourbon. It well inherits Bourbon's high-quality flavor, and because the plants are closely spaced, it can be planted more densely per unit area, but it is susceptible to leaf rust. Castillo, crossed from these two varieties, inherits Caturra's excellent flavor characteristics while also being resistant to leaf rust like Timor, and therefore has been widely promoted.
Front Street Colombia Finca El Paraiso Cherry Blossom Coffee Bean Processing Method
As mentioned above by Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee), coffees with Colombian special processing methods are quite popular among coffee fans. These Front Street Colombia Finca El Paraiso Cherry Blossom coffee beans use anaerobic natural processing. This processing method uses stainless steel containers (which do not absorb the flavors of previously processed coffee beans) to hold the coffee cherries, making the flavor cleaner. Fermentation in a sealed environment makes variables easier to control, the quality of beans from each processing batch more consistent, and aromatic substances less likely to dissipate. Anaerobic fermentation makes the flavor rounder, often with cheesy, creamy aromas.
The estate owner Diego Samuel himself is an estate operator who uses special processing methods as a selling point. These Front Street Colombia Cherry Blossom coffee beans show a very unique taste after anaerobic processing, similar to the aromas of mugwort, basil, and chamomile, which is hard to encounter in other coffee beans and is worth trying.
Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) Roasting Data Sharing
For these Front Street Cherry Blossom coffee beans, Front Street uses a medium-light roast to preserve the coffee's characteristics while bringing fruit sweetness to the fullest. The specific parameters are as follows:
Taking Yangjia semi-direct fire 800n with 300g green beans as an example. Charge at a drum temperature of 190°C, with heat power 140 and damper set to 3; the turning point is 1'42", and when the drum temperature reaches 140°C, open the damper to 4 while keeping the heat power unchanged; when the drum temperature reaches 151.8°C, the bean surface turns yellow, the grassy smell completely disappears, and the dehydration stage begins. When the drum temperature reaches 150°C, adjust the heat power to 120 and keep the damper unchanged. At 8'38", ugly wrinkles and dark spots appear on the bean surface, and the toasted bread 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 first crack. First crack begins at 9'07", open the damper to 4, develop for 2'10" after first crack, and drop at 195°C.
Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) Brewing Suggestions
Dripper: V60 dripper Water temperature: 90-91°C Dose: 15 grams Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15 Grind size: medium-fine grind (78% passing through a No. 20 standard sieve)
If you want to showcase the coffee's best flavor, Front Street recommends brewing with freshly roasted coffee beans, as this allows you to experience the coffee's rich layers to the greatest extent. The coffee beans shipped by Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) are all within 5 days of roasting, because Front Street deeply understands that the freshness of coffee beans has a major impact on flavor. Front Street's roasting philosophy is "freshly roasted good coffee," so that every customer who places an order receives the coffee in its freshest state. The resting period for coffee is about 4-7 days, so by the time customers receive it, it is exactly at its best flavor.
In terms of brewing technique, Front Street uses a three-stage pouring method: first use 30 grams of water for blooming, and bloom for 30 seconds; pour with a small stream from the center to 125 grams as the first stage, and when the water level is about to expose the coffee bed, increase the flow and pour to 225 grams, then stop. After the coffee liquid has fully drained, remove the dripper. (Start timing at the beginning of blooming.) The extraction time is between 2'00" and 2'10".
Front Street Colombia Finca El Paraiso Cherry Blossom Coffee Bean Flavor Description: pronounced spiced tea, citrus-like acidity, smooth, slight floral aroma, moderate body.
How Does Finca El Paraiso Cherry Blossom Perform as an SOE?
SOE simply means using single-origin coffee beans to make espresso. The flavor performance of Finca El Paraiso coffee beans is fresh and unique. When used to make Americano, a rich and aromatic flavor can be tasted, and Front Street highly recommends it; however, when used to make an SOE latte, it is easily masked by the milk flavor.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
