Introduction:This "Bach" from the Musician Series of Finca Canet in Tarrazú, Costa Rica, grown at an altitude of 1950 meters, is processed using the raisin honey method with the Caturra variety. It features a unique rice wine fermentation aroma, with tropical fruits and berries acidity on the palate, and a finish of caramel and floral notes. This article delves into the regional characteristics, processing details, and varietal traits of this coffee, and provides professional roasting and pour over parameters to help you fully experience the layered flavors of this high-altitude honey-processed coffee.
Located in the Central American isthmus, Costa Rica is influenced by the convergence of Pacific and Atlantic air currents, coupled with numerous volcanoes exceeding 2000 meters in elevation, resulting in fertile volcanic ash soil and cool high-altitude environments. Under these conditions, coffee cherries mature slowly, accumulating rich and balanced flavor profiles, which have earned the country an international reputation for specialty coffee.
The coffee season in Costa Rica is distinctly divided into dry and rainy seasons, with the dry season from December to April of the following year coinciding with the harvest period. The stable weather during this time helps accurately assess the ripeness of the cherries. In recent years, the rise of micro-processing facilities, which use only 5% of the water required by traditional washed processing plants and eliminate the need for large fermentation tanks and drying patios, has significantly reduced upfront investment. This has also led to increasing market preference for honey processing methods that preserve more mucilage, resulting in higher sweetness and complexity.
The country is divided into eight major coffee-growing regions, among which Tarrazú stands out for its long cultivation history and outstanding flavor performance. It has not only been recognized by the British royal family but also mentioned and praised in a pope’s speech, making it one of the representative origins of Costa Rican coffee.
Located in the highest-altitude area of Tarrazú, Finca Canet is also situated in one of the regions with the highest density of fruit cultivation in Costa Rica. Although passion fruit is the main crop, the farm still reserves a small portion of land exclusively for coffee cultivation and adopts extremely meticulous management practices. All coffee cherries are hand-selected with great care, picking only fully ripe red fruits, and additional screening is carried out before processing to remove any underripe or overripe beans, ensuring consistent raw material quality.
This "Bach" from the Musician Series uses the raisin honey processing method, characterized by retaining 100% of the mucilage and avoiding water usage throughout the process, which greatly increases the difficulty of processing and the precision required in timing. On the day of harvest, the coffee fruits are first placed in a large water tank for floatation; fully ripe and dense fruits will sink to the bottom, while underdeveloped or overripe ones will float and must be entirely removed. The selected fruits are then placed on raised beds for at least three days of initial drying to allow moderate moisture loss, after which the cherry skins are removed while keeping the complete mucilage layer for continued drying.
The success of honey processing hinges on the climatic conditions and operational details during the drying phase. During drying, the coffee cherries must be continuously and evenly turned to avoid insufficient flavor development due to overly fast drying or excessive fermentation caused by overly slow drying. The appropriate frequency of turning and drying speed are key to forming the unique fermentation aromas and complex flavor profiles.
In terms of bean variety, this "Bach" uses the Caturra variety. Caturra is a mutation of Bourbon, first discovered in Brazil in 1937. Compared to Bourbon, Caturra offers higher yields and stronger disease resistance, with a shorter tree height that facilitates harvesting. It is also highly adaptable and can grow healthily under full sunlight even without shade trees, hence it is known as "sun coffee." Caturra thrives at altitudes between 700 and 1700 meters, with flavor performance improving at higher elevations, though yields decrease accordingly—this is precisely the essential challenge in crafting specialty beans.
The green beans exhibit the typical honey-processed yellow-green hue, along with fresh citrus fruit aromas and subtle fermented fruit scents, setting the stage for subsequent roasting and extraction.
For the roasting analysis, a Yangjia 800N semi-drum roaster was used with a batch size of 300g. The drum was preheated to 200°C before charging the beans. The initial flame setting was 160, with the air damper at 3. At approximately 1 minute and 36 seconds, the turning point was reached and the flame setting was maintained. When the temperature reached 140°C, the flame was kept at 160 and the air damper was adjusted to 4. Around 4 minutes and 50 seconds, the beans turned yellow, grassy notes faded, and the dehydration phase began. At 166°C, the flame was reduced to 135 while the air damper remained at 4.
At 8 minutes and 05 seconds, dehydration was completed. The bean surface showed wrinkles and black speckles, and the toast bread aroma transitioned into a distinct coffee aroma, signaling the approach of the first crack. Careful attention was paid to listening for the first crack sounds. At approximately 8 minutes and 38 seconds, the first crack began, and the air damper was immediately opened fully to 5, with the flame setting unchanged. The development time after first crack was 1 minute and 45 seconds, and the roast was dropped at 193.8°C.
Cupping revealed a rich flavor profile, including rose floral notes, berries, cream, cocoa, caramel, fermented aromas, and tropical fruits, fully showcasing the potential of the raisin honey process and the high-altitude Caturra variety.
For pour over brewing, it is recommended to use a V60 filter cone with a brew ratio of 1:15, water temperature at 90°C, and grind size at BG 5R (58% passing rate through a Chinese standard 20-mesh sieve). Total brew time should be controlled within 2 minutes. The specific method is as follows: pour 30g of water for a 30-second bloom, then slowly pour in a center-focused manner up to 125g for the first pour. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, switch to a slightly larger stream until the total water volume reaches 225g to complete the brew. These parameters and techniques effectively highlight the rice wine fermentation aroma, tropical fruit acidity, and the layered profile of caramel and floral notes in the finish of this "Bach."
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
