TASTING NOTES:
Chocolate
Fresh berries
Very sweet and well balanced
Clean aftertaste that lingers really nicely
NICARAGUA Microlot 'Red Honey' Process
Honey processed coffee is when the coffee cherry is pulped and then dried with the mucilage layer still on the bean. It is an hybrid between washed and natural process. The first thing the farmers do is pick only the ripest cherries from the trees. The beans are then pulped from their outer skin and left with a layer of mucilage still on the seed (coffee bean). This mucilage layer contains a high amount of sucrose (sugar) and acids which is really the key of the honey process.
The mucilage layer, when dried, will continue to reabsorb moisture from the air and become sticky (hence the name "honey"). This is when sucrose from the mucilage gets drawn into the drying bean. The entire process is done on raised beds or concrete slabs.
This usually takes between 6-10 hours. After that, the coffee needs to be agitated once a day for a minimum of 6-8 days. It’s long, right? Sun-drying honey processed beans takes this long because each night the beans pick up moisture from the air, requiring more drying the next day. Once the coffee has finally dried, it’s ready to be dry milled and roasted just like with the other processes.
This Nicaragua is a Red Honey Process which means that the coffee seeds have a higher moisture content (due to the amount of mucilage on the seed, around 50%) and needs to dry under shade cover for longer. Thereby extending the drying process and allowing more sugars to be absorbed for a sweeter product.
ROASTER'S NOTES:
As a medium light roast, the Nicaragua sits at 24 on the Roast Vision Scale and 91 on the Agtron Gourmet Colour Scale laid out by the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA).
Enjoy this beautiful coffee as we only have 60kg of green beans left and when it's done, we move on to the next one ;)