Differences, distinctions and winners of individual beans in Costa Rican Coffee

Professional barista communication, please pay attention to coffee workshop (Weixin Official Accounts cafe_style)

Costa Rican Coffee Bean Differences, Distinctions and Awards

Costa Coffee

So what does honey processing mean to you?

Bean Baker: The key to honey treatment is consistency in taste and flavor

The challenge that bean bakers often face is how to mix the recipe beans, or how to maintain the flavor of a recipe as much as possible. This means understanding not only honey processing, but also other processing methods to help blend formula beans. Beans can be switched more accurately, new recipe beans created, and flavor options filled in when replacing beans narrowed.

However, there are many different variables that affect and vary based on region, treatment, planting altitude, etc. The coffee you end up with, don't buy blindly because it's honey-treated coffee, it may have great sweetness, sourness and fruity aftertaste, but it doesn't have to be the same every time.

Barista: Knowledge of coffee is valuable

Baristas make coffee for everyone every day, and knowing how coffee is grown, processed, harvested, and roasted from the beginning can be a great help for baristas to make better coffee flavors that you have never tasted before. Each cup of coffee is unique. A coffee shop contains a rich chocolate and caramel flavor of the formula beans. Before blending, its single product may be a highly sweet and low sour sun Ethiopian coffee.

Know yourself and know your enemy, and absorb knowledge from all sides with the heart of knowledge, not only for yourself, but also for consumers. If you can tell consumers why sun-dried Ethiopian coffee is so much sweeter than the washed Indonesian Sumatra coffee they drank last week, consumers will want to come back to your coffee shop. People are inquisitive, and when they think the barista around them knows what they want, they come back.

Full-bodied particles, ideal acidity, unique and intense aroma.

Tarrazu, Costa Rica, is one of the world's leading coffee producers, producing coffee with a light, pure flavor and pleasant aroma. Costa Rica's volcanic soils are fertile and well drained, making it the first country in Central America to grow coffee and bananas for commercial value. Coffee and bananas are the country's main exports. Coffee was introduced to Costa Rica from Cuba in 1729, and today its coffee industry is one of the most organized in the world, producing up to 1700 kilograms per hectare. Costa Rica has a population of 3.5 million, but coffee trees number 400 million, and coffee exports account for 25% of the country's total exports. Costa Rica also benefits from the Turrialba of the Central American Agricultural Research Institute (IAAC), an important international research centre, based in Tarazu.

High-quality Costa Rican coffee is known as "extra-hard" and can be grown at altitudes above 1500 meters. Altitude has always been a problem for coffee growers. Coffee beans are better at higher altitudes, not only because higher altitudes increase the acidity of coffee beans and thus enhance flavor, but also because lower night temperatures at higher altitudes cause trees to grow slowly, thus making coffee beans more flavorful. In addition, due to the high altitude drop caused by sufficient rainfall, the growth of coffee trees is also very favorable. However, while there are many advantages to growing coffee at higher altitudes, the additional transportation costs associated with it must be taken into account, which may well make coffee production unprofitable. Costa Rican coffee has adopted new technologies to increase efficiency, including the use of "electric eyes" to select beans and identify beans of irregular size.

Tarasu is located south of the country's capital, San José, and is one of the country's most prized coffee plantations. La Minita Tarrazu coffee is locally famous but produced in limited quantities, about 72600 kilograms per year, on land called La Minita, owned by the last three generations of the McAlpine family in England. In fact, the land produces more than 450 tons of coffee per year. But Tarasulamita coffee is grown without artificial fertilizers or pesticides, and is harvested and picked entirely by hand, in order to avoid some of the damage done to the beans by air-jet sorting.

Other coffees worth mentioning are Juan Vinas (PR), H.Tournon, Windmill (SHB), Monte bello and Santa Rosa. Fine coffee is grown in Geredia and the Central Valley. Another striking coffee is Sarchi (one of the five towns that represent Costa Rica's "coffee route"), which grows on the slopes of Poas Volcano, 53 kilometers from San Jose. Saatchi was founded in 1949 and has 30770 hectares of land to grow sugar cane and coffee. The area is also known for its handicrafts, which attract tourists from all over the world.

The country's coffee industry, formerly controlled by Instituto del Café de Costa Rica (ICAFE), has been taken over by the Official Coffee Council (Oficina del Café). Among coffee exports, those deemed substandard are colored with blue vegetable dye and then returned to domestic sales. Coffee consumed domestically (dyed blue or undyed) accounts for about 10% of total production, and local coffee consumption per capita is twice that of Italy or the United States.

About Costa Rican Coffee Beans (Central America)

Tarrazu, Costa Rica is one of the world's largest coffee producing regions, located in the central valley of Costa Rica, south of the country's capital San Jose, where there is a very rich alpine volcanic soil. Tarrazu is one of Costa Rica's four premium coffee growing regions, the other three being Tres Rios, Heredia and Alajuela.

Tarazu produces coffee with a light, pure flavor, bright acidity and citrus or berry aromas. Coffee produced in this region is highly rated on the international coffee market. At Tarrazu there is a hard-to-find gluttonous coffee bean, La Minita Tarrazu, which produces coffee in limited quantities, about 72,600 kilograms (160,000 pounds) per year, grown on land called La Minita, owned by the last three generations of the McAlpine family in England. The reason it's so popular is that Tara Zulamata is grown without artificial fertilizers or pesticides, and is harvested and picked separately by hand (to avoid some of the damage done to the beans by air-jet sorting).

Costa Rican coffee also includes Juan Vinas (PR); H.Tournon; Windmill (SHB); Monte bellow; Santa Rosa;FJO Sarchi. P.S. Good Costa Rican coffee beans are called "extra hard beans" and are classified as follows:

Strictly Hard Beans (SHB) Above 1200 m (3900 ft)

GHB (Good Hard Beans) Altitude 1200- 1000 m (3900- 3300 ft)

Medium Hard Beans (MHB) 1000- 500 m (3300- 1600 ft) above sea level

Sweet flowers

Costa Rica Honey Process

If you like a light, sweet, tea-like coffee that tastes like honeydew and has a slight floral, lemon, and nutty flavor, Costa Rican honey-treated beans may be right up your alley. The so-called honey treatment refers to removing the outer skin of the coffee cherry fruit with a pulper first, and then removing the outer skin of the coffee cherry fruit. Green beans with pectin in shell are placed on a trellis for sun treatment. This water-saving treatment can make coffee taste sweeter.

Located in San Isidro de Heredia in Costa Rica's volcanically fertile Central Valley, Zamora Estate is the winner of the 2012 Costa Rica C.O.E. Coffee Competition. The farm is owned by the Rodríguez Carballo family, who have been engaged in coffee production since 1880. This coffee has a complex flavor with floral and ripe juicy fruit notes and a very clean taste.

Costa Rica Finca Tres Milagros

Camilo, owner of Casa Santo Ario, is mentioned in the fine coffee circle and most people agree that because of his unusual passion for coffee cultivation and his innovative spirit, he has been the partner of many top Barista companies around the world for many years. In 2013, the Facusse family, which has long operated a food sales company Dinant in Costa Rica, decided to use Camilo's successful experience in planting estates in Colombia to start a new estate project in Costa Rica and named it Three Miracles Estate. The name comes from Camilo's belief that all successful estates absolutely have these three factors working together and cooperating with each other. These three factors are coffee trees, farmers and land.

Location was the most decisive factor in deciding to start the Costa Rican estate project, and after a long process of discussion and land evaluation, Tarrazu, Costa Rica's highest producing area, was chosen. The estate is located in an area with an altitude of 1,450 - 1,750 meters and a soil of volcanic ash from Irazu, which provides sufficient nutrients for coffee trees. At the same time, Camilo also requires the estate to maintain a low density of coffee tree planting area, which is more conducive to the absorption and growth of coffee tree nutrients, and has a higher promotion for cup taste. At present, the planting area of Three Miracles Manor is about 120 hectares, and the annual top micro-batch yield is only about 300 bags. In addition, the hardware equipment of the estate is mainly planned according to four key points:

The first is to use the Green House System to provide better humidity, temperature and ventilation of green coffee beans during the sun drying stage.

The second is the Intercrop system, which provides diversity to the farm ecosystem by planting different plants and also helps farmers control the farm ecology.

The third is Shade Grown System, most of the trees in the estate are Inga species combined with some other local trees, so that the coffee trees grow in a perfect shade environment to protect the growth of coffee trees.

The fourth is to choose the right coffee varieties. Camilo decided to adopt traditional coffee varieties with low yield but better flavor at the beginning of plantation. Besides Bourbon and Geisha, F1 is a new variety developed by CIRAD in Costa Rica in recent years. F1 is a mixture of Villa Sarchi+Sachimor and Sudan Rume. In addition to the traditional flavor of Villa Sarchi in Central America, it also has the citrus flavor of African variety Sudan Rume.

Three Wonders Bourbon Honey Three Wonders Manor Bourbon Honey Finca Tres Milagros Bourbon Honey

Country: Costa Rica

■ Production area: Dota, Tarrazu

■ Altitude: 1450-1750 m

■ Treatment method: honey treatment

■ Level: SHB

■ Breed: Bourbon

■ Flavor description: stone fruit, syrup, brown sugar, honey

Three Miracles F1 Day Three Miracles Manor F1 Sunburn Finca Tres Milagros F1 Natural

Country: Costa Rica

■ Production area: Dota, Tarrazu

■ Altitude: 1450-1750 m

■ Treatment method: sun exposure

■ Level: SHB

■ Variety: F1

■ Flavor description: peach, fruit juice, cranberry juice, good cleanliness

Three Miracles F1 Honey Three Miracles Manor F1 Honey Finca Tres Milagros F1 Honey

Country: Costa Rica

■ Production area: Dota, Tarrazu

■ Altitude: 1450-1750 m

■ Treatment method: honey treatment

■ Level: SHB

■ Variety: F1

■ Flavor description: syrup, apricot, grape, apple juice, smoky finish

Three Miracles Geisha Day Three Miracles Manor Geisha Sun Finca Tres Milagros Geisha Natural

Country: Costa Rica

■ Production area: Dota, Tarrazu

■ Altitude: 1450-1750 m

■ Treatment method: sun exposure

■ Level: SHB

■ Breed: Geisha

■ Flavor description: Citrus peel, orange, clean, sweet

Finca Tres Milagros Bourbon Washed

Country: Costa Rica

■ Production area: Dota, Tarrazu

■ Altitude: 1450-1750 m

■ Treatment method: washing

■ Level: SHB

■ Breed: Bourbon

■ Flavor Description: Light floral, stone fruit, chocolate, hazelnut, citrus, herbal aromas

Raminita is a world-class manor. In the eyes of some people in the coffee industry and barista, she is a king, because last year's WBC champion, Klaus Thomsen of Denmark, used Raminita as the main recipe of espresso, and also used as the structure and flavor of creative drinks. Sure enough, some contestants adopted it in Tokyo this year.

Since the beginning of this year, the McAlpin family has used [La Minita] as the common quality control sign for all the raw beans of the group. All the raw beans exported by the group are marked on the sack car with riding seals. The following is the La Mininta and the logo that has just arrived:

The McAlpin family started running La Minita in 1967. It can be said that when discussing a boutique coffee estate, it is bound to mention "Raminita"! In the cup testing courses of SCAA and SCAE in recent years alone, lecturers mention Raminita almost every time they list taste or high-quality beans, while La Minita not only sells well in Europe for more than 50 years, but also enjoys a high reputation in the American market!

Over the years, La Minita has become famous for its seven characteristics:

Superior geographical conditions and microclimate: Tarazu is the most famous producing area in Costa Rica, but Raminita has two major rivers, the Tarrazu River and the Alumbre River converge in the mountains west of the manor, which can fully adjust the temperature, and the advantage of the west of the manor makes the farm have the advantage of not being too cold in the morning and not cooling too fast in the evening. Rainfall distribution is very good, from flowering to fruiting period, there is moderate rainfall irrigation, moisturizing, high-quality clay layer to provide sufficient nutrients, an average of 4000 to 6000 feet high altitude, so that the hardness of beans is high enough!

The following picture shows the rivers and spectacular waterfalls in the manor area:

[2] selected varieties: there are Caturra, Catuai red, Catuai yellow and Hibrido (i.e. hybird) in the manor. After cup quality test and statistical screening, Caturra and a small amount of old Hibrido are the main ones at present.

[3] strict quality control (1) under the system of rotation and tree replacement, all coffee trees are harvested for five years, that is, the trees with only 50% Michael must be cut down in the fifth year after four years of harvest to rest and wait for harvest when they grow up! There are a total of 1.5 million trees in the farm, with an average of 350000 trees being cut down every year. In addition to planting rotation, we have to change trees! Each coffee tree is harvested for only 15 years, and it is replaced 15 years later to ensure its quality. 150000 coffee trees are replaced each year and shade trees are planted around the coffee trees to plant them.

[4] the procedure of the wet treatment field is very strict and the drying machine is used after the treatment.

The following picture shows an aerial view of the wet treatment plant and some of its equipment.

[5] the elimination rate of raw beans is more than 70%, that is, less than 29% of raw beans can be sold as La Minita manor beans.

[6] in the final selection stage of raw beans, it takes 30, 000 man-hours to select carefully, and only qualified ones can be marked with La Minita.

The manual screening of the following figure is the final stage.

[7] use your heart! For example, Harvesting, Pruning and processing are all handled very carefully; in the harvest period, Raminita's coffee trees are harvested in five batches on average, because only the most ripe cherry fruits are picked, while batch harvesting requires a great deal of labor and patience. Pruning is rotational planting, a system that ensures that the land is not too barren and ensures that the quality of raw beans can be maintained at its peak without the use of chemical fertilizers; processing refers to the treatment of coffee fruits after harvest, and in 2001, La Minita had its own wet treatment plant, with the aim of maintaining consistent quality.

The picture shows the manor manager introducing the coffee tree and the process of planting and pruning, with La Minita beans being bagged on the other side:

This year La Minita's spices are sweet and berries are still the same! And the clean and changeable flavor generally maintains the usual elegant demeanor, especially this year more Tokyo WBC competition contestants use as formula beans, each shows her magic power, and presents her charming and diverse flavor, this is Raminita!

The following is the cup test report of 2007 la Minita: (Oshe M0 baking degree, Japanese Fuji 1kg bean baking machine, 11 minutes pot)

Country: Costa Rica: Tarazu Manor: Raminita La Minita

Harvest time: February 2007

Variety: caturra, old hibrido treatment: washing fermentation, the latter stage of the first sun and then low-temperature drying

Grade: SHB appearance / defects: green 0d/350g

Dry aroma: similar to elegant perfume, alpine tea, sweet candy, sour berries and apples, grapes, clean and elegant aromas

Wet fragrance: a variety of berries, caramel, cream, flowers, slightly spicy aromas

Sipping: raspberry lime sour, caramel, good grease, elegant apple, melon, tea, grapefruit sour and sweet, clean aftertaste and unique spice sweetness, the aftertaste is not tight and delicious.

Selling price

Bulk discount price (description)

Tarazhu Diamond Mountain, Costa Rica-Costa Rica Tarrazu SHB Montanas del Diamante Estate

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In the quotation in April, Lianjie Coffee, which specializes in the import and sale of raw beans of coffee from various countries, has entered a new Diamond Hill Manor in the Tarazu producing area of Costa Rica, marked as extremely hard beans grown in the mountains 1800 meters above sea level. Although it is packed in linen bags, it has a number of plastic inner bags (GrainPro Bag). It is supposed to have a certain level of quality and the price is also approachable. Let's take a look at a 5-kilogram package.

At the same time, the data of Costa Rican Diamond Hill searched on the Internet are as follows:

ORIGIN: Costa Rica

REGION: Tarrazu

SUBREGION: Dota Valley

PRODUCER: Montanas Del Diamante Estate/Gutierrez Family

PLANT SPECIES: Arabica

PROCESSING METHOD: Washed

PROCESSING DESCRIPTION: The coffee is fully washed and patio dried.

WET MILL NAME: Montanas del Diamante Mill

COFFEE GRADE: SHB EP

SCREEN SIZE: 15 Up

GROWING ALTITUDE: 1750-1850m

ANNUAL RAINFALL (MM): 250

SOIL TYPE: Volcanic

PLANT VARIETAL (S): Red Catuai

TYPES: Estate Coffees, Grain Pro / Ecotact

It is also mentioned on another website that most of the varieties grown here are Red Catuai, a hybrid of Caturra and Mundo Novo. The granules of this batch of raw beans are not large, about 15 mesh. I wonder if they are the characteristics of this variety.

This time it was not very shallow, and the baking degree was about 3 minutes before it was allowed to come down, so the overall acidity is much milder, and the aroma is not very prominent, which can be smelled from raw beans, but the cleanliness of the taste is quite satisfactory, and the supple citrus is sour, which should be acceptable to even friends who don't drink sour coffee very much. The sweetness and cocoa taste of the latter part of the black molasses lasted for a long time before dissipating in the mouth.

In recent years, Costa Rica has not let everyone down, and the Cmax P value has left Guatemala far behind. Whether it is made into a single product or put into a comprehensive formula, it is a good choice.

Joint Coffee Linking Coffee │ facebook

Contact: 02-23583032

Lianjie Coffee, Costa Rica, Tara Pearl producing area, Diamond Villa, Costa Rica Tarrazu, Montanas del Diamante Estate, Coffee beans, Raw beans, Linking Coffee, Costa Rican Diamond Hills

Have you ever wondered what coffee honey treatment is? (this article only discusses the treatment of red honey) is there any coffee that tastes better than other treatments you are used to drinking?

This article takes you to explore what honey treatment is, what are the characteristics of honey treatment, and what is the different significance of honey treatment for baristas and bakers.

Why is it called honey treatment?

There are three main ways to treat coffee: sun exposure, water washing and honey treatment. The sun drying method is to directly expose the coffee cherries before removing the shell and pectin layer; the water washing method is to screen the coffee pulp before exposure and ferment to remove the pectin layer; the honey treatment law is between the sun method and the water washing method: the pectin layer is directly retained and exposed after the coffee pulp is screened.

Then you will ask where is Mi?

The word honey treatment makes many people think that coffee is treated with honey, or that coffee tastes as sweet as honey, but in fact it is not either of these two explanations. The meaning of honey treatment comes from the sticky pectin layer of coffee beans before exposure, which feels as sticky as honey; when the coffee pulp is separated from the coffee beans, the outer coated pectin layer is exposed to absorb moisture in the air and make the pectin layer sticky.

When the coffee is screened, the pectin layer will remain on the outside of the coffee bean.

Why is honey treatment popular with coffee farmers?

At first, some people saw that this treatment could continuously improve the quality of their coffee beans, and it originated in Costa Rica, and this treatment is now ramming.

So why did coffee farmers in Costa Rica plan to treat it with honey in the first place? When coffee farmers want to improve the quality or price of their coffee, they have three choices: change the species of coffee, change the altitude of planting, and change the method of treatment. Just like most people who brew coffee, they will want to use relatively simple ways, such as adjusting the grinding scale and the amount of powder, and then adjusting the amount of water, pressure and temperature of the coffee machine. Most coffee farmers also want to change the treatment method first. Then they will consider planting new tree species or moving the manor, which requires investment of time and money.

Honey treatment is time-consuming and the construction method is exquisite.

Honey treatment is not simple, it takes a long time and must be handled carefully. What are the steps involved in honey processing?

First of all, coffee farmers should select ripe coffee cherries from the coffee tree, and then screen out the outer pulp, as mentioned earlier to retain the pectin layer outside the coffee beans. The pectin layer retains a high proportion of sugar and acid, which are the key to honey treatment.

The following steps are the most complex and exquisite part of honey treatment: exposure. The time must be mastered well, and the length of time is the key. If the exposure time is too short, it is impossible to convert the substance of the pectin layer into the coffee beans, and the time cannot be too long, and the action must be fast to avoid mildew beans caused by internal fermentation.

So how do you strike a balance? Put the beans on the sun scaffolding or cement floor and turn the beans several times per hour for the first few days until they reach the desired moisture content, a step that usually takes 6-10 hours. You need to turn it at least once a day for the next 6-8 days. It takes a lot of time, huh? The reason why honey treatment is so time-consuming is that beans absorb moisture from the air every night, so that it takes more time to expose themselves the next day.

When the coffee is exposed, it is almost as dry and roasted as any other treatment.

Honey-treated coffee is being exposed on the cement floor.

Why is honey treatment so beautiful?

When honey treatment is so difficult and time-consuming, you may wonder if it's really worth it.

There's no doubt it's worth it.

Honey-treated coffee generally has a great balance of sweetness and acidity, and the flavor is generally not as strong as the coffee in the sun, but it is more fresh and mellow, so why not?

The key to this flavor difference comes from the sugar and acid content of the pectin layer. During exposure, the sugar in the pectin layer becomes more and more concentrated, and these sugars soak into the coffee beans.

Yellow honey, red honey, black honey treatment, where is the difference?

When you want to buy honey-treated coffee, you usually have the choice of yellow honey, red honey and black honey. You may have heard of these honey treatments to retain the percentage of pectin layer, and what does this mean?

Coffee farmers will classify coffee, some will retain less pectin layer so that they can be exposed faster, while others will retain more pectin layer and require longer exposure time. Yellow honey (about 25% of the pectin layer) in order to finish faster during exposure, it must be carried out in the least shaded environment (clouds, shade trees) to get a yellow appearance. Red honey (which retains about 50% of the pectin layer) takes longer and needs some shelter to expose itself. Black honey (which retains about 100% of the pectin layer) is usually covered in order to extend the exposure time.

Coffee is treated with yellow honey, red honey and black honey (from left to right)

Which is better, yellow honey, red honey or black honey?

It may be that black honey is better, the flavor of honey treatment will bring more fine and deep influence because of the residual sugar in pectin layer, and the more residual pectin layer, the stronger the flavor. (this is the view of the author of this article. Coffee seedlings think that each treatment has its own flavor, which varies from person to person. )

However, for coffee producers, they have to face another commercial consideration. Although the benefit of black honey treatment is that better quality and better price coffee can be produced, the risk and cost will also be greatly increased. So that it may affect the willingness of farmers to use black honey treatment. The longer the coffee is exposed to the sun, the more likely it is to breed bacteria during fermentation, resulting in defective moldy beans. The beans need to be flipped more frequently and take up more exposure space, up to twice as much as yellow honey treatment. Not only to make high-quality coffee, but also to let coffee farmers produce the most profitable coffee.