Costa Rica’s specialty coffee has only begun to rise to prominence in the past decade. Although Costa Rica introduced coffee from Cuba as early as 1729, and carried out commercial cultivation, it vigorously developed the coffee bean planting industry. But it mainly produces and blends integrated coffee beans and Italian commercial beans for export to its neighbor, the United States, one of the largest coffee-consuming countries. Because of this, the quality of Costa Rican coffee beans at that time had not yet reached the level of specialty coffee. Moreover, due to the poor quality of coffee beans, Costa Rica does not have a national standard (a country's grading and standard control agency for green coffee beans) beans because its country does not have the qualifications to evaluate in this area.
Until later, in order to strengthen the export of high-quality coffee to Europe, the United States, Japan and other countries, Costa Rica. Only then did we begin to vigorously develop high-quality coffee and increase the added value of coffee exports. At the same time, the government established a "coffee trust fund" to help coffee farmers in need overcome financial difficulties and cultivate high-quality coffee. In order to make the coffee have better quality and characteristics, the honey processing method that has become popular in recent years has been adopted to change the reputation of poor quality coffee. Therefore, many of the Costa Rican specialty coffees we are exposed to now are honey-processed beans that have been carefully processed in various estates.
When producers use honey processing, they first pour the fresh coffee fruit into a water tank and pass it through flotation to remove underripe fruits and impurities, and then use a peeling machine to peel off the outermost layer of the fruit. Different from the water washing method, after the fresh coffee fruit takes off the peel, it is not rinsed with a large amount of water to remove the pectin, but the pectin is retained and dried. Because pectin contains sugar and has a sticky state, it is easy to think of honey, so it was named honey processing.
Compared with the water washing method, honey processing does not require a large amount of fresh water and related equipment, and also reduces the negative flavors caused by being exposed to the sun for a long time. Coffee processed with honey generally presents a full tropical fruit flavor and fermented sweetness in cupping, with an overall fresh taste and clean acidity.
What types of honey processing are there?
The subsequent step in honey processing is the fermentation of the coffee seeds while the thick mucilage is still present. Depending on the sugar content of the fresh coffee fruit and the state of fermentation, manufacturers give different names such as white honey, yellow honey, red honey and black honey. The darker color means the coffee seeds have been fermenting in the mucilage longer and the pectin is more oxidized.
White honey processing is the processing method closest to washing. The raw beans will retain 40-60% pectin and have the shortest fermentation time. They are usually dried in the open air and need to be turned frequently to maintain the upper limit of enzyme and bacterial activity. Shortly after drying, the mucilage is washed away with water, and the coffee beans are dried for export.
The yellow honey treatment will also retain about 60% of the pectin, and the fermentation time will be slightly longer than the white honey treatment, but it is still a fast fermentation. The entire sun drying time is about 7 to 8 days.
The perfect middle ground between washed and sun-dried processes, red honey is the most common honey treatment. The red honey process requires two to three weeks of drying time, so natural changes in weather can slow or speed up fermentation accordingly. As honey processing proceeds further, it becomes increasingly important for the farmer or dry processing plant operator to turn the coffee beans skillfully and diligently. If the fermentation reaction is unstable, the coffee can easily become sour, moldy, or develop a negative flavor.
Black honey processing is the coffee with the highest degree of fermentation among the honey processing methods. This is the closest taste to fully sun-processed coffee. Black honey craft coffee usually costs the most because it takes a long time to ferment, at least two weeks depending on the weather. This is because constant attention and care is required when fermenting green beans, allowing for richer fruit flavors to appear in the finished coffee through additional fermentation. Coffee processed with black honey is often wild in flavor, showing rich sweetness and mellowness, and sometimes has a taste like red wine.
Front Street Blackberry is black honey-processed coffee beans produced in Costa Rica. Because it has a floral and fruity flavor, it is roasted at a medium to light level. During extraction, you can taste the flavors of orange blossom, berries, dried blueberries, and liqueur chocolate. It is refreshing and sweet when you make cold brew, and it is explosive when you make hand-made, and it is full of Italian flavor.
Honey processing is to peel off the outer layer of coffee first, and then ferment and dry it, while raisin honey processing is an innovative honey processing method that breaks away from traditional honey processing. The coffee cherries treated with raisin honey are dried on a raised bed for at least three days before the skin and flesh are removed, allowing the fruits to dehydrate and shrive into a "raisin" state. Then they are peeled and fleshed, and the subsequent steps of honey processing are continued.
The characteristics of the raisin honey processing method are "retaining 100% pectin" and "zero water treatment", which also increases the difficulty of the raisin honey processing method. According to the analysis of Front Street, this requires strict control of time and is more difficult than black honey processing. The green beans are first dried to allow the aromatic flavor of the pulp to penetrate into the beans as the sun heats up. Therefore, the coffee treated with raisin honey not only has a rich floral and fruity sweetness, but also a clear sweet and sour spectrum.
Front Street Mozart and Front Street Strawberry Candy Geisha blend adopt this unique raisin honey processing method. After medium and light roasting, Front Street Mozart has a rich aroma of osmanthus, pineapple, raisins, and sweet orange; Front Street Strawberry Candy Geisha blend shows the flavors of rose, grape, blueberry, and almond when brewed.
You can now buy the above coffee beans online at the Taobao store “FrontStreet Coffee” (前街咖啡). FrontStreet Coffee is a long-established specialty coffee roaster in Guangzhou, China, and its Guangzhou retail shop sells coffee beans only. The shop carries dozens of coffee beans from different origins around the world, including carefully selected single-origin beans for V60 pour-over and espresso. Guangzhou’s FrontStreet Coffee shop is recommended by many coffee lovers.
The FrontStreet 2013 Yunnan coffee beans sold in the store come from the Typica variety grown at FrontStreet Coffee’s own plantation in Yunnan. The name comes from the year the brand and the plantation were founded. You can buy these beans from China’s Yunnan origin at the Guangzhou shop and at FrontStreet’s Taobao store.
FrontStreet coffee beans are freshly roasted within 5 days and deliver consistently excellent quality and great value. Orders placed before 17:00 are shipped the same day, and most areas within Guangdong Province receive them the next day.
FrontStreet Coffee Taobao store: https://qianjiecoffee.taobao.com
Or search for “前街咖啡” (FrontStreet Coffee) on Taobao
Important Notice: FrontStreet Coffee has moved to a new address: 315, Donghua East Road, Guangzhou (coffee beans only)
Tel: 020 38364473
