How Does Water Temperature Change a Honey Process Coffee Bean?

A raisin honey processed Mozart coffee bean from Canet Estate was brewed three ways, at 93°C, 90°C, and 87°C, to compare aroma, acidity, sweetness, and aftertaste. The estate sits in the highest part of Tarrazú, hand-picks only ripe red cherries, and its coffee plantings are limited, which concentrates the fruit-forward character of this coffee bean process.

Each temperature shifted the balance in the cup: hotter water pushed aroma and extraction, cooler water held back bitterness and let sweetness come forward. The experiment was run as a pour-over comparison, and notes such as a coffee smells like soy sauce point to the savory, fermented edge that raisin honey processing can add.

Costa Rican coffee is famous for its honey processing method, and the Musician series from Canet Estate is among the very best, especially a raisin-honey-processed Mozart coffee bean whose dry and wet aromas are both deeply impressive. To investigate how water temperature affects this bean's flavor expression, Front Street Coffee conducted pour-over comparison experiments at 93°C, 90°C, and 87°C, recording aroma, acidity, sweetness, and aftertaste one by one. This article will begin with the background of Canet Estate, the origin of the Musician series' naming, the green bean information, and the craft characteristics of the raisin honey processing method, then present in detail the brewing parameters and flavor differences of the three water temperatures, and finally offer brewing recommendations suited to this Mozart coffee bean.

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When it comes to Costa Rican coffee beans, the honey processing method is undoubtedly an unavoidable topic, and among the many honey-processed coffees, the Musician series launched by Canet Estate stands out particularly. Take the Mozart coffee bean processed with the raisin honey method as an example—the baristas at Front Street Coffee's store were quite surprised after experiencing its dry and wet aromas; beans with such intense aroma are indeed rare. So the baristas at Front Street Coffee had an idea: brew a pot each of Costa Rican Mozart coffee beans at 93°C, 90°C, and 87°C, and see what flavor profile this bean would present under different temperature conditions. In the article below, Front Street Coffee will share this brewing experiment with everyone.

Canet Estate

Before formally entering the experiment, Front Street Coffee will first explain the origin of this Mozart coffee bean—Canet Estate. According to information available to Front Street Coffee, the estate is located in the highest-altitude area of the Tarrazú region, which is also the area with the most concentrated fruit cultivation in Costa Rica. Canet Estate's main business is passion fruit cultivation, and its coffee planting area is very limited, with coffee grown only on a specific plot and given special management. All coffee cherries are hand-picked, selecting only ripe red fruits, and after picking is completed and before entering the processing stage, an additional screening step is carried out to remove once more any underripe or overripe fruits.

The Musician series got its name because the owner of Canet Estate has a particular fondness for classical music, so all coffee beans produced by the estate are named after musicians. Next, Front Street Coffee will introduce the specific characteristics of this Mozart coffee bean.

Green Bean Information

Front Street Coffee Costa Rica Mozart Coffee Bean

Region: Tarrazú

Estate: Canet Estate

Variety: Caturra, Catuai

Altitude: 1950m

Processing Method: Raisin Honey Processing

Roast Level: Light Roast

Flavor: Raisin, osmanthus, sweet orange, berry, pineapple, caramel, toffee

Raisin Honey Processing Method

The most prominent highlight of this Costa Rican Mozart coffee bean lies in the processing method it uses. The raisin honey processing method is a zero-water processing technique that can retain 100% of the coffee fruit's mucilage.

This processing method is relatively difficult to carry out and places extremely strict demands on timing control. According to Front Street Coffee's understanding, its operational process is roughly as follows: on the day the coffee cherries are harvested, the harvested fruits are first poured into a large water tank; plump, ripe fruits will sink to the bottom of the tank, while underdeveloped or overripe fruits will float on the water surface, and these floating beans need to be removed. After screening is completed, the coffee fruits are placed on raised drying beds to dry for at least three days, after which the cherry skins are removed and drying continues with the mucilage retained. At this stage, climatic conditions play a decisive role in whether honey processing succeeds.

In addition, during drying these coffee cherries must be continuously turned to ensure a uniform drying process, but the frequency of turning needs to be handled just right—the drying speed must be slow enough for the coffee to undergo a fermentation effect, yet not so slow that over-fermentation occurs.

That concludes the introduction to the bean's background; next we enter the experimental stage. In this experiment, only the water temperature is adjusted as a single variable, while the other parameters and brewing technique are kept as consistent as possible.

Pour-over parameters: Dripper: hario V60; Grind size: 5R (58% passing rate on China standard No. 20 sieve); Coffee-to-water ratio: close to 1:15; Three-stage extraction.

Water temperature used: 93°C

First bloom with 30 grams of water for 30 seconds, then slowly pour water around the center to 115 grams for the staged pour; when the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring slowly in a small stream to 226 grams to finish. (Timing starts from the bloom) Extraction time is 1'55".

Costa Rican Mozart coffee flavor: It smells of distinct fermented wine aroma, mixed with slight spice and genmai notes. On the palate it is full-bodied, with an orange-like sweet-and-sour sensation and a faint genmaicha feel. After the temperature drops slightly, a bit of floral fragrance emerges from the coffee, and it drinks with a clear sweet rice wine flavor.

Water temperature used: 90°C

First bloom with 30 grams of water for 30 seconds, then slowly pour water around the center to 117 grams for the staged pour; when the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring slowly in a small stream to 226 grams to finish. (Timing starts from the bloom) Extraction time is 2 minutes.

Costa Rican Mozart coffee Flavor: It smells of a light fermented wine aroma, and on the palate there is an obvious raisin sweetness. At higher temperatures it presents nutty, peanut, and black tea notes; after the temperature drops, the palate shows the acidity of tropical fruit and sweet orange, with a sugarcane sweet aftertaste.

Water temperature used: 87°C

First bloom with 30 grams of water for 30 seconds, then slowly pour water around the center to 114 grams for the staged pour; when the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring slowly in a small stream to 225 grams to finish. (Timing starts from the bloom) Extraction time is 2'03".

Costa Rican Mozart coffee Flavor: It smells like osmanthus wine aroma, mixed with a slight grassy scent. On the palate there is a pronounced jasmine fragrance, giving a jasmine green tea impression. After the temperature drops slightly, tropical fruit flavors like jackfruit emerge, with honey sweetness in the aftertaste, but the overall aroma performance is rather weak and the body is also somewhat thin.

From the above results, it can be seen that when Front Street Coffee brewed this [Costa Rica Mozart] at three different water temperatures, all three performed fairly well in terms of aroma. However, because this bean is a light roast, 87°C is ultimately a bit too low, resulting in coffee with a grassy taste caused by under-extraction. By comparison, the coffees brewed at 90°C and 93°C performed well in both aroma and flavor; and compared with 90°C, the [Mozart] brewed at 93°C was slightly superior in the richness of its flavor layers.

Based on the results of the above experiments by Front Street Coffee, it can be concluded that this [Mozart] is a flavor-type bean with a relatively intense aroma. In order to fully showcase its aromatic advantages, Front Street Coffee suggests that coffee lovers, when making pour-over coffee at home, keep the water temperature between 90°C and 93°C, because high temperatures have stronger extraction capacity than low temperatures and can better bring out this bean's aroma.

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