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Costa Rica Sumava de Lourdes black honey

Costa Rica. Sumava Estate. Caturra. Black Honey 

Region: West Valley

Estate: Sumava Estate (Finca Sumava de Lourdes)

Variety: Caturra

Elevation: 1700 meters

Processing Method: Black Honey (black honey)

Soil: Volcanic

Harvest: December to March of the following year

Flavor Profile: Brown sugar, floral, citrus, grapefruit, sweet spices, sweet and rich mouthfeel

High-quality Costa Rican coffee is known as "SHB Strictly Hard Bean," grown at elevations above 1500 meters. Altitude has always been a key factor for coffee growers. The higher the altitude, the better the coffee beans—not only because higher altitudes increase acidity, enhancing flavor, but also because cooler nighttime temperatures slow tree growth, resulting in more concentrated flavors.

Located in Central America, Costa Rica borders Panama, the birthplace of Geisha, and is influenced by ocean currents and monsoons from both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, creating an exceptional microclimate. Combined with diverse topography, it forms a perfect region for coffee cultivation. Although not a top producer in terms of volume, Costa Rica’s volcanic soil is incredibly fertile and mineral-rich, with excellent drainage, ensuring crops receive ample rainfall and nutrients, yielding superior fruit.

From the map, Costa Rica’s territory is long and narrow, with coffee-growing regions also distributed in a narrow band across the center. Thanks to its unique climate and volcanic geography, Costa Rica has eight premium coffee regions: Central Valley, Tres Ríos, West Valley, Tarrazú, Brunca (five major regions), and three smaller ones—Turrialba, Orosi, and Guanacaste.

Additionally, the significant elevation differences bring abundant rainfall, while volcanic soil is fertile and well-drained, ideal for coffee tree growth. The beans typically have strong acidity and captivating aromas, often plump in size, with clean, bright acidity, ideal body, and bold flavors that leave a lingering, memorable aftertaste.

Sumava Estate is located in Costa Rica’s West Valley, with its main harvest season from November to March of the following year—one of the longer harvesting periods. Influenced by Pacific air currents, the temperature here is often cooler than in higher-altitude mountainous regions, resulting in exceptionally high-quality coffee cherries and seeds.

Finca Sumava in Costa Rica is a relatively young estate. Originally purchased by Francisco Mena, who was in the coffee trading business, he retained most of the original forest, developing only a small portion for coffee cultivation to maintain the estate’s natural ecological balance.

Sumava Estate sits at an elevation of approximately 1670-1790 meters, in the renowned West Valley region of Costa Rica. The large diurnal temperature variation and fertile soil make it highly suitable for coffee cultivation.

The honey process originated in Central America, specifically Costa Rica, where some high-altitude regions faced water scarcity. As a result, after depulping, the coffee cherries were dried with their mucilage still intact.

The mucilage is the part of the coffee fruit with the highest sugar content and plays a crucial role in fermentation during processing. It can be said that this part determines 80% of the nutrient supply during processing. White honey retains 30% of the mucilage, yellow honey 60%, red honey 75%, while black honey retains almost all of it.

The batch of Sumava Estate Black Honey coffee beans acquired by Front Street features the Caturra variety. The green beans are small and slightly inconsistent in size, with a faint fruity and grassy aroma. During cupping, Front Street detected intense fermentation notes, along with flavors of brown sugar, sweet spices, floral, citrus, caramel, and nuts. The cup offers bright acidity with notes of citrus, blackberry, orange, and cherry, mid-palate flavors of almond and raisin, and a caramel sweetness in the finish.