#17 Costa Rica

This coffee maintains its rounded smoothness without being to acidic. 

A first-generation (F1) hybrid originating from a cross between Caturra and an Ethiopian landrace from the CATIE collection (accession E531).

The variety was part of the first wave of F1 hybrid varieties created by a consortium including French research institute CIRAD, a regional network of national coffee institutes in Central America (PROMECAFE), and CATIE. H3 was not part of the final round of selection after 2000 because it showed some susceptibility to rust. However, the cup quality was exceptional and some farmers in the region involved in early tests opted to continue to cultivate the variety.

Coffees from Latin America is usually very easy to handle. As they are grown at altitudes from 1400-1700m. The cellular structure is more uniform and makes it easier to calibrate when dailing in your espresso shot.  

At this altitude the cellular structure is uniform. And very little adjustments have to be made. Some rare coffees from Costa Rica are grown at a higher altitude as 1900-2100 m. And as a general rule = higher altitude = coarser grind setting / as the cellular structure is more dense. In this case I would also recommend a shorter extraction time 19-21 sec. And no rules without exceptions / Anaerobe / Cabonated coffees with same principle. 

They coffees can be extracted from 19 sec to 31 sec. and still tasting harmonious with a delicate balance. Your highlight here should be sweetness and medium to low acidity. Tactile balance has to be medium to low weight. Costa Rican coffees are usually light, smooth with a delicate structure.  

The dose is calculated using a 20g VST porta filter.

Min dose is 19g/ and Max dose 21 g. pr dobb espresso.    

This coffee is ideal to brew on Hario and December dripper as we want to highlight the acidity. 

Brew/ratio mass depends on how you pour the water, the weight of your coffee and the length of your brew. I like to recommend that you try to use different pouring techniques. So you will find out what will suit you and the coffee you have in your hands.

Step 1

Prefinfusion = Using water to wet the coffee, so the particle can absorb water, giving access to flavour and aromas. As a rule when you use less coffee, less water is used to preinfusion. "just enough to cover the coffee in the filter".

Step 2

Blooming = this is where the coffee particles is expanding, as any cellular products, giving access to transform the coffee attributes in to flavours and aromas. As a genius = less coffee/shorter blooming time. More Coffee/longer blooming time = that make sense right? Ie. 33 g of coffee = 30 sec blooming time. 60 g of coffee = 50-60 sec blooming time.

Step 3

Building up your coffee in the filter = you coffee brewing times length and letting you coffee steep in the filter. Coffee needs to be handled firm and homogenises.

Ie. Dont let your coffee set/sit or "dry out in the filter" when you pour the water in your coffee filter. Vise versa, you have to be careful, that you don't pour too much water, so you create a "swimming pool" on top of the coffee in the filter. The coffee should have a smooth "run through" contact time with water. You can find inspiration on brew guides