COSTA RICA JAGUAR TARRAZÚ HONEY 2020
Description
Cup Profile
Heavy body, medium acidity with flavors of creamy milk chocolate, caramel and berries.
About the Beneficio San Diego Mill
Beneficio San Diego is the most modern mill in Costa Rica. It was established in 1888 and has been innovating ever since.
Today Beneficio San Diego specializes in coffees from the Tarrazú and Tres Ríos regions. The mill takes pride in striving for ever increasing efficiency and quality standards. At the same time it has taken a leading role in working with producers to ensure good community relations and sustainable production.
About the Coffee
The honey process started in Costa Rica and has since spread to other countries in Central America. In this process some or all of the mucilage of the coffee cherry - or coffee honey - that coats the parchment is left on during the drying stage, giving the coffee a sweetness that resembles a natural.
This Tarrazú coffee was hand-picked, depulped and moved to patios - African beds - where it was dried for a week until it reached the desired humidity.
Protecting Costa Rica's Jaguars
Our Costa Rica Jaguar Tarrazú Honey is one of our coffees with a purpose. The coffee is the same as San Diego Honey, but we are asking roasters to pay $.10/ lb more - and Genuine Origin is matching it - for the coffee to finance FUNDAZOO's program to protect Costa Rica's diminishing jaguar population.
About FUNDAZOO
FUNDAZOO is an organization that is actively involved in conservation through research, habitat management and education. Conservation activities include species exhibitions, natural history, guided tours and workshops for students. Reforestation and rehabilitation of the zoo, as well as the Conservation Center in Santa Ana. Also, FUNDAZOO actively works with Conservation Planning Specialist Group (CPSG) of the Species Survival Commission (SSC) of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Brewing Tips
You have in your hands some of the freshest roast coffee you can get, so how do you do justice to it and get the best to your cup ?
Resting:
Although it can be so tempting to grind (more on that in a moment) your beans and brew up, there is some evidence to suggest that allowing your coffee to relax for about a week after the roasting date can help enhance some of the more subtle flavours, particularly in the case of those "fruity blueberry" Ethiopian varieties. It's not going to taste bad but it might taste better in a subtle way.
As with humans, too much rest can be a problem - after about thirty days from roast date your beans will start to lose some subtle characteristics. Unlike wine, if it has been resting for a year, then don't expect too much.
Grinding:
Yes, it can be problematic adding another piece of equipment to your already cramped counter tops but this one is worth it. You should be grinding to order as part of the coffee "ritual". Tempting though it may be to re-use a whirly blade spice grinder (often sold as dual purpose) or buy the cheapest grinder you can find, hold out for something that is at least a burr grinder (conical or flat doesn't hugely matter at this point) from a reasonable manufacturer - OXO, Cuisinart, Kitchen Aid, Baratza, Eureka are some names that come to mind.
What's wrong with whirly blade grinders ? Well, as you can tell, they resemble upside down lawn mowers and their contact with the beans is going to be random at best. You are going to get larger and smaller chunks of bean depending on the quantity and grind time. That's going to be a problem when brewing as the finest will extract quickly and the coarsest not as quick, if at all. So this results in uneven extraction which can affect the overall balance of the taste. A burr grinder, like a flour mill, is more even and consistent.
Depending on your brew method, you may want to experiment with different grind settings, usually for non-espresso you are looking for something between coarse sand and table salt. For immersion methods like French Press, usually you want to be at the more coarse end of the grind.
Water:
Taste the water you are going to make coffee with. Is it off or less than palatable ? Well as coffee is 98% water, if the water tastes bad by itself, your coffee isn't going to be great either. Use either bottled water or a filter system to remove the chlorine smell/taste that is present in many municipal water supplies.
How Much Coffee:
Try and resist the urge to use the "scoop" per cup method - grab your kitchen scales or buy a cheap one which can measure to 0.1 of a gram. The problem with the scoop is it is by volume so that can change by up to 10% depending on your grind level. The average scoop is probably 10g.
A good starting ratio is 60g of coffee per liter of water. You can make your coffee stronger or weaker depending on your taste but start there and adjust the grind if your coffee is sour or bitter before changing the amount.
Filter paper or metal permanent:
A number of coffee machines now come with a permanent metal filter as an alternative to using one time paper filters. Depending on your personal ecological stance, you might prefer the reuse of the metal. This will likely result in a more "bold" coffee taste as some of the coffee oils that add "body" will not be absorbed as they would with a paper filter and will find their way into your cup. This might be suitable if you like a lighter roast but may get too heavy with a darker roast. Try and avoid reaching for the sugar or creamer to compensate if a paper filter would save the day.