[notes on looking for beans in Qianjie] A special topic on sapphires of Fire Phoenix Manor in Costa Rica

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Costa Rica Central Valley Cumbres Del Poas Zahiro

Fire Phoenix Manor Sapphire in Costa Rica

Producing area: central Valley

Manor: fire Phoenix Manor

Altitude: 1600m

Variety: Kaddura, Kaduai

Grade: SHB

Treatment: insolation

Production area introduction

Costa Rica is located in the Central American isthmus, and is simultaneously regulated by Pacific and Atlantic currents and sea breezes. Many towering volcanoes up to 2000 meters above sea level, with fertile volcanic ash, mild and suitable temperature, and stable and abundant rainfall, are all factors that coffee has become one of the main agricultural products in Costa Rica. Coffee berries grow slowly in the fertile volcanic ash soil and cool environment at high altitude. Give birth to coffee beans with complete and rich flavor, and the coffee beans produced in the high latitudes of Costa Rica are famous in the world, full-bodied, mild in taste, but extremely sour, and the coffee beans here are carefully processed, which is why there is high-quality coffee.

Central Valley

The Central Valley is also the first area in Costa Rica to grow coffee, and then to other regions to develop the country's coffee industry, moderate rainfall 118in annual rainfall, an average annual temperature of only 19 ℃, coupled with high altitude, so the beans are hard, smooth, high acidity, full-bodied and full-bodied. Coffee in this region is the earliest coffee growing area in Costa Rica, rich in volcanic soil and sometimes with chocolate aroma.

Introduction to the manor

Located in the foothills of the Poas volcano in the central valley of Costa Rica, Fire Phoenix Manor is an early honey-treated and sun-dried coffee producer in Central and South America. The landowner believes that organic farming is a better choice for environmental conservation and family health, and adheres to this belief even in the face of many technical and organizational challenges.

He became famous when he took part in the boutique coffee contest in 2009. During the harvest season, the sugar content of the fruit is measured by the sugar meter Brix meter, which is often equipped by the wine industry, and the best time and treatment are determined according to the sugar content of Brix. Only those with more than 20% sweetness will be exposed to the sun. The Brix of general fruit is apple 14, lemon 12, passion fruit 18, but the coffee cherry of Fenghuang can reach 21-22%.

The manor attaches great importance to the concept of environmentally friendly treatment (column: collecting Rain Water to handle coffee), and the production and use of organic compost for earthworm farming (worm composting) makes the planting process completely free of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. The natural treatment of sapphire (Zahiro) is quite laborious. Hand-harvested high-sugar cherries are first placed in an African viaduct in the sun for about 10 days, and then placed in a plastic cloth-covered greenhouse to create more direct heat and continue to dry until the water content reaches 11.5%. The slow drying process allows raw beans to develop more natural sweetness from the inside, but it also needs to be taken care of more carefully and constantly turned. In the end, the red cherries turn black, giving off the aroma of fruitcake, black sugar and even sherry!

Variety (Kaddura, Kaduai)

Kaddura is a variety of bourbon, was found in Brazil in 1937, production capacity and disease resistance are better than bourbon, and the tree is shorter, easy to harvest, adaptable, does not need shade trees, direct exposure to the sun can also be full of vitality, commonly known as exposed coffee (Sun Coffee). Kaddura is suitable for planting in the high altitude area from 700m to 1700 m, with strong adaptability to altitude, but the higher the altitude, the better the flavor, and the production capacity is relatively reduced, which is the fate of fine beans.

Kaduai is also an Arabica hybrid breed, which is a hybrid breed of Mundo Novo Mondonovo (New World) and Caturra Kaddura. It has a good ability to resist natural disasters, especially wind and rain. It inherits the advantages of Kaddura's low stature and changes Mondonwood's shortcomings; another advantage is that it is solid and not easy to fall off in case of strong wind, which makes up for the weakness of Arabica fruit.

Raw beans seem to vary in length as a whole, smelling not only with the grass smell of raw beans, but also with a hint of scented tea and rich fruit aromas.

Treatment (solarization)

This bean is treated in the sun. Sun treatment is the oldest and most primitive treatment of coffee beans, in which the harvested coffee cherries are placed on the terrace, and some are even directly exposed to the sun by the side of the road (about 27-30 days). The moisture content from 60% to only 12% is completed, the beans treated by the sun have the lowest acidity, obvious sweetness, high alcohol thickness but slightly lower cleanliness.

Curve analysis

This Costa Rican fire Phoenix sapphire has rich aromas of berries and tropical fruits. In order to retain the rich fruit flavor and sweetness of this bean, Qianjie bakers use medium heat to bake the bean.

Roaster Yangjia 800N (baking capacity 300g)

The furnace temperature is 170℃, the throttle is open, the firepower is 110mm, the temperature recovery point is 1140℃, the throttle is opened to 4, the bean surface turns yellow, the smell of grass disappears completely, and enters the dehydration stage. When the furnace temperature reaches 166℃, the firepower is adjusted to 80℃, and the throttle remains unchanged.

The smell of toasted bread has obviously changed to the smell of coffee, which can be defined as a prelude to an explosion. At this time, it is necessary to listen carefully to the sound of the explosion point. When the sound of the explosion starts, adjust the throttle to 5 (the tuning power should be very careful and not be so small as to be free of bursting sound), and the smell of toast will obviously change to the smell of coffee, which can be defined as a prelude to an explosion. At this time, you should listen carefully to the sound of the explosion point, and set the throttle to 5 (the tuning power should be very careful, not so small that there is no burst sound).

Agtron bean color value 69.3 (above), Agtron pink value 75.4 (bottom), Roast Delta value 6.1.

Cup mapping

Flavor: berries, tropical fruits, fermented wine, brown sugar

Qianjie Coffee sharing brewing parameters

Recommended cooking method: hand flushing

Filter cup: Hario V60

Water temperature: 90

Amount of powder: 15g

Powder / water ratio: 1:16

Degree of grinding: medium fine grinding (BG 6k: pass rate of Chinese standard No. 20 screen 58%)

Cooking technique: stage-by-stage extraction

Steam with 34 grams of water for 30 seconds, small water flow around the circle to 127 grams for stages, when the water level is about to expose the powder bed, continue to inject water to 240 grams to stop injection, and so on when the water level drop is about to expose the powder bed, remove the filter cup, (the time of steaming starts) the extraction time is 2 minutes 39 percent 05 ".

Flavor description

Dry aromas have obvious tropical fruit, fermented and sweet spices, while wet aromas give off aromas of berries and honey.

The entrance has strawberries, tropical fruits, fermented wine, honey at the end, cocoa, the overall taste is smooth, the flavor is distinct, and the taste is obvious.