Costa Rican Honey treatment Flavor difference Honey treatment Coffee beans how to make different degrees of Honey

The coffee beans produced at the high latitudes of Costa Rica are famous in the world, full-bodied, mild in taste, but extremely sour. The coffee beans here have been carefully processed, which is why they have high quality coffee. Located in the south of SanJos é, the capital of Tarasu, Costa Rica is one of the most valued coffee growers in the country. The cultivation of coffee in this area has a long history, but in the past 10 years, the new "dry" treatment has become a trend, collectively known as "honey treatment". Honey treatment is a method between sun-drying and water washing. It keeps the coffee clean by washing, and because it is dried in the sun with the pulp mucosa, it greatly increases the sweetness and caramel flavor of the coffee.

Honey treatment method

Honey treatment, called HoneyProcess or Miel Process, is used in coffee gardens in Costa Rica (Costa Rica), Panama (Panama) and Guatemala (Guatemala), which is called Honey Coffee. The so-called honey treatment refers to the process of making raw beans with mucous membrane for sun-drying. After the outer pulp of the coffee bean is removed, there will be a layer of sticky jelly. The traditional washing method washes it away with clean water, but this direct drying method has been born because of the limitations of water resources in some high-altitude areas.

Juxtaposed with the two traditional treatment methods, water washing and sun treatment, honey treatment has become a unique method in coffee treatment. The taste difference between honey treatment and water washing treatment: higher sweetness, higher sugar content and higher alcohol thickness (under the premise of the same baking degree)

Honey treatment keeps the coffee clean after washing, and although the brightness of the coffee decreases, it increases the sweetness and caramel taste. According to the different degree of honey treatment, honey-treated coffee can be divided into yellow honey treatment, red honey treatment and black honey treatment.

Yellow honey: about 40% of the pectin is removed; the drying method requires the most direct heat absorption, receives the most light drying, and lasts for about 8 days to reach a stable water content.

Red honey: about 25% of the pectin is removed; it takes longer to dry than yellow honey, and reduces direct exposure to sunlight, even in shading sheds, lasting about 12 days.

Black honey: retain close to 80% pectin; dry for the longest time, lasting at least 2 weeks, with a cover to avoid too strong sunlight, prevent drying too fast, and make sugar conversion more fully.

The advantage of honey treatment is that it can best preserve the original sweet flavor of coffee ripe fruit, making the coffee show elegant black sugar flavor and drupe flavor, while the berry flavor also supports the basic aroma of red wine, which is considered to be a very elegant product.

The biggest difference between honey treatment and Brazilian semi-washing is that the former does not drip water, because be sure to choose flawless red fruit, pectin is sweet. The honey-treated pectin planer is more demanding, and the thickness of the pectin planing must be precisely controlled, just like the bean grinder.

Basically, the manufacturing process of [red honey] is much more difficult than that of [yellow honey], but the taste spectrum is deeper, with a hint of game on the palate, but instantly feathered into a rich fruit sweet aroma, just like the delicate fermented aroma of Yega Xuefei's well-known sun beans Biloya and Aricha.

The main difference between [white honey] treatment and [yellow honey] treatment is "the distinction of drying thickness", which determines the drying speed and drying uniformity, and then affects the sweetness and fermentation degree of coffee.

On the topic of "Central and South American honey-treated coffee lacks clear flavor and blindly pursues fermentation characteristics", during the cup test, it was found that white honey and yellow honey coffee did not have the fermentation and soy sauce flavor of traditional honey treatment at all. On the contrary, sweet and sour coffee is more like a cup of excellent washed coffee. This kind of honey treatment brings a sour, refreshing and clean constitution similar to that of red berries.

What flavor is the failed honey-treated coffee?

But the failed honey-treated coffee will have a strong defective sun flavor, similar to the rough sun-cured onion, durian, bean curd and, more seriously, alcohol potions. Normal honey-treated coffee has a mild sour taste, and it is not good if it is sour enough to pout. The first thing about honey treatment is freshness. If the manufacturing period is more than 10 months, the charming sweet aroma of fruit will be lost.

Why does the sun treatment retain 100% flesh but not so sweet?

After all, the sun still retains the peel, the fermentation process of some microbes is not so deep, and the sugar may remain in the dried pulp. Of course, each treatment has its own characteristics, and the climate of each year will also affect the flavor of coffee. Indeed, if the subject wants to have a deeper understanding of the flavor differences between different treatments, drinking directly is a very intuitive way.

What is the difference in flavor between yellow honey, red honey and black honey in Costa Rican honey treatment?

Simple understanding: the more pectin you keep, the richer and sweeter the coffee will be. Here is a comparison of the flavors of several honey treatments:

Red honey flavor of Fenghuang Manor

Dried fruit, vanilla, honey, thick and delicate on the palate, good sweetness, soft acidity, round and full, long-lasting finish, strong sucrose sweetness of plum, raspberry, chestnut and tail, and aromas of apple peel.

Yerzaro processing factory yellow honey flavor

Famous for its excellent natural geographical conditions and excellent regional planting and management techniques, it has almost perfect classic flavor, lively citrus flavor in acidity, BlackBerry fruit aroma, acidity and texture, melons sweet taste and smooth taste. Drupe / micro-flower aroma, while the finish has a significant aroma of coffee flowers, it is a tasty coffee full of Latin and rural flavor.

Rami Manor Black Honey treatment

With honey-treated mild acidity, soft taste and sweet high-quality berry flavor, the most obvious difference between them is that yellow, red and black are sweeter than the other, coupled with richer fruit rhymes. The biggest feature is a very amazing sweetness, plum, honey, brown sugar tail rhyme.