Why Are Some Coffee Beans Named After Musicians?

Some coffee beans are named after musicians because the estate owner is a classical music fan. Carnet Estate, in the Tarrazu region of central Costa Rica, produces a Musician Series that includes Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, and Chopin. The estate sits at 1,700 to 1,950 meters and grows the Caturra and Catuai varieties, using raisin honey and washed processing.

All of the estate's output is SHB-grade high-altitude strictly hard bean. The cups are known for sweetness, fruity aromas, wine-like notes, and tea-like fragrance. In the 2019 harvest the estate focused on Caturra, and the three coffees differ in emphasis: Bach is layered with red wine character, Beethoven is washed and clean, and Mozart highlights floral notes and sweetness.

As an agricultural crop, coffee is named in many different ways—some are named after their place of origin, some after the estate, but coffee beans named after musicians are especially interesting. Front Street Coffee also has a series named after musicians, including Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart. These beans come from Carnet Estate in the Tarrazu region of central Costa Rica. The estate owner loves classical music, so the coffee beans produced there are named after musicians. The estate uses two varieties, Caturra and Catuai, combined with raisin honey processing and washed processing. The altitude ranges from 1,700 to 1,950 meters, and all are SHB-grade high-altitude strictly hard beans. The flavors are known for sweetness, fruity aromas, wine-like notes, and tea-like fragrance. The 2019 harvest of the Musician Series all used the Caturra variety, and each of the three coffees has its own emphasis: Bach is layered and rich with a red wine character, Beethoven is washed to present a clean and refreshing summer feel, and Mozart highlights gorgeous floral notes and sweetness. Below, Front Street will guide everyone through the unique qualities of these three coffees one by one.

Coffee is ultimately an agricultural crop, and coffees from different origins have their own naming conventions—some are called by place names, some are distinguished by estate names, and there is another rather special category named after musicians. Front Street Coffee has also launched a series named after musicians: Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart. Why were musicians' names chosen? And what are the differences in their flavors? Next, Front Street will explain this in detail for everyone.

Carnet Estate in central Costa Rica uses two coffee varieties, Caturra and Catuai, and through raisin honey processing and washed processing produces the world-renowned Musician Series coffee beans, named "Beethoven," "Bach," "Chopin," and "Mozart." The estate is at an altitude of 1,700 to 1,950 meters, and all the beans it produces are SHB-grade high-altitude strictly hard beans, sweet in flavor, with very rich fruity aromas, wine-like notes, and tea-like fragrance.

In the 2019 harvest, the estate focused on the Caturra variety, reinterpreting the captivating flavors of the Musician Series.

Carnet Estate is a small estate in Costa Rica, jointly owned by a family of three brothers. It has been growing coffee for more than ten years and also operates a small coffee processing plant. The long-popular Musician Series comes from here, using different processing methods, with each coffee having its own flavor emphasis.

The birth of the Musician Series stems from the Carnet Estate owner's love of classical music, so the coffee beans produced by the estate are all named after musicians. Carnet Estate is located in the highest-altitude coffee-growing area of Tarrazu, Costa Rica. The estate uses the two coffee varieties Caturra and Catuai for raisin honey processing and washed processing, producing the world-famous Musician Series coffee beans, named "Beethoven," "Bach," and "Mozart." The altitude is between 1,700 and 1,950 meters, and all are SHB-grade high-altitude strictly hard beans, sweet in flavor, with rich fruity aromas, wine-like notes, and tea-like fragrance.

So what exactly are the characteristics of the Musician Series?

Costa Rica's geographical conditions are very suitable for growing coffee.

Poas Volcano (2,708 meters), Barva Volcano (2,906 meters), and Irazu Volcano (3,432 meters) are located in central Costa Rica, bringing abundant minerals, phosphates, sulfides, and other nutrients to the local soil. The slightly acidic soil has made central Costa Rica a world-famous coffee-producing region, and the Tarrazu region is one of them.

Caturra coffee beans were the main variety in the 2019 Musician Series.

The flavors of the Musician Series differ from year to year. Basically, the two coffee varieties Caturra and Catuai are used, combined with raisin honey processing at different levels of mucilage and washed processing, shaping coffee beans with distinct personalities, which are then named Beethoven, Bach, Chopin, and Mozart.

The latest 2019 batch of the Musician Series all uses Caturra coffee beans. Caturra is a mutation of Bourbon, with better disease resistance and productivity than the more delicate Bourbon. Its flavor improves with higher altitude, but yield decreases accordingly. The Musician Series can be said to represent the altitude limit of Caturra coffee beans, and precisely because of this, it can cultivate world-famous coffee beans.

Costa Rica Bach (BACH) Coffee Beans

Bach's music is refined, richly layered, and at the same time clear and well organized.

The coffee beans named after Bach have a dry aroma with fruity notes such as strawberry, blackberry, and raisin, and also give off waves of fruity fragrance during brewing. When just brewed, the floral and fruity aromas are both obvious; after sipping, one can feel rich fruity aromas and a sweet-and-sour sensation, with a slight wine-like note in the middle and finish, like red wine.

As the temperature drops, it carries the sweet fragrance of candied fruit, the wine-like note becomes more prominent, and one can even sense the flavor of plum wine. Every sip feels like being immersed in the splendor and rigor of Baroque aesthetics.

Costa Rica Beethoven (BEETHOVEN) Coffee Beans

Beethoven was a coffee lover. It is said that he would count coffee beans to pass the time, and to brew a cup of coffee he had to count out 60 coffee beans. This story is quite interesting. This bean greatly impressed Front Street. The floral and fruity aromas given off by the coffee are very obvious, with the sweetness of honey and the tart fragrance of berries. The body is medium, and the acidity is full and solid.

The most famous figure in Romantic classical music is undoubtedly Beethoven, and the coffee beans that make one think of Beethoven's music naturally have outstanding flavor. The dry aroma already has an obvious red berry character, with strawberry the most prominent, and it also gives off floral notes. During brewing, one can sense floral notes, honey-like sweet fragrance, and green grapes. After sipping Beethoven coffee, there is the sweet-and-sour sensation of green grapes and red berries, and the overall cup is clean and smooth.

As the temperature drops, the red berry flavor becomes even more obvious. Some foreign coffee bloggers have even described it as a coffee full of romantic summer sentiment.

By the way, unlike the raisin honey processing of other styles in the Musician Series, Beethoven uses the washed method to process the coffee beans, in order to present a clean and refreshing summer taste.

Musical Prodigy Mozart (MOZART) Coffee Beans

Finally, Mozart. Mozart, the prodigy who epitomized classical music, let the splendor shine freely.

Gorgeous aroma: it gives off elegant floral notes, similar to the fragrance of white flowers such as orange blossom, which can also be sensed during brewing.

Gorgeous mouthfeel: more dark berries and raisins, plus a small amount of red berries. In the middle and finish, one can sense a slight plum acidity and a gummy-bear-like sweetness. As the temperature drops, it still retains floral notes and sweetness.

Unlike before, the previous Mozart coffee beans used the yellow Catuai variety with red honey processing and were known for their bold floral aroma, while this time the sweetness of Caturra is used to represent Mozart.

The above is an introduction to the flavors of the three coffees in Front Street's Musician Series. As for which one tastes better, Front Street believes that every one of them is delicious. Each coffee has its own flavor characteristics, and as long as it is one you like, that is the best-tasting one. If conditions allow, it is worth tasting coffees of different flavors one by one—that is also a kind of pleasure.

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