Cerro San Luis, Honey

Cerro San Luis is SL28 from Costa Rica — a Kenyan variety grown in Alajuela and naturally processed with extended drying on African raised beds. SL28's flavor architecture is built around bright fruit acids expression from its Bourbon-lineage genetics. The natural processing adds fruit-forward fermentation character: cherry and plum trace to the fermentation compounds developed during drying, while peach tea sits where SL28's bright acidity intersects with honey-like roast-developed compounds. At 92°C and 445μm, the V60 recipe is set to protect the heat-sensitive fruit aromatics while pushing extraction yield past the acidity phase. The 2°C temperature drop reflects the natural processing's aromatic compounds, and the 55μm finer grind is driven by the light roast's low solubility, offset by the natural processing backing off to prevent fruit over-extraction. The paper filter's clarifying effect helps isolate the fruit notes by removing competing oil fractions.

The Kalita Wave's uniform flat-bottom extraction benefits SL28 specifically because this variety's large, irregular beans create wider particle distribution than compact dwarf varieties. The Wave's three-hole flat bottom and equalized water head pressure ensure that all particles — including the coarser SL28 outliers — are contacted by water at roughly the same rate throughout the brew. The cherry and plum fruit compounds from the honey process extract early in extraction; the peach tea resolution that contributes to requires the mid-extraction roast-developed range to be reached across the whole bed uniformly. At 475μm, 92°C, and 1:16-1:17, this recipe is the most forgiving of the three pour-overs for this bean — the flat-bottom evenness compensates for the inevitable variation in SL28's large-bean grind distribution. If cherry reads more strongly than peach, tighten ratio to 1:15.

AeroPress for Cerro San Luis Honey SL28 uses the same 92°C temperature as the pour-overs, targeting a brief 1-2 minute contact window with a fine 345μm grind. SL28's large bean size is less problematic in AeroPress than in pour-over methods because the immersion phase contacts all particles simultaneously before pressure-assisted plunge — the coarse outliers from SL28's irregular fracture pattern get soaked alongside the median particles rather than relying on water passing over them in a moving bed. The honey process esters — cherry, plum — extract aggressively early in extraction at 345μm, producing an AeroPress cup that leads with fruit intensity. The peach tea character requires the mid-range roast-developed sweetness compounds to be reached, and is less pronounced in the AeroPress than in a slow pour-over: the 1-2 minute window is often sufficient for cherry and plum but slightly short for the delicate peach resolution.

The Clever Dripper's immersion-then-paper-drain approach has specific advantages for Cerro San Luis Honey SL28. The immersion phase simultaneously saturates SL28's large, irregular particles — the coarser outliers from this variety's uneven fracture profile begin extracting in parallel rather than relying on water contact in a moving bed. This reduces the sour-and-bitter simultaneous problem that occurs when SL28's coarser particles under-extract while finer ones over-extract. The paper filter then intercepts the honey process oils during draw-down, providing the oil-free clarity that expresses cherry and plum distinctly. At 18g / 279g / 92°C / 475μm, the recipe matches V60 parameters with the added benefit of more even particle saturation. Steep for a full 3 minutes before opening the valve — SL28's light-roast solubility resistance requires the full contact window to push extraction past the initial cherry brightness into the peach tea resolution.

Espresso for Cerro San Luis Honey SL28 uses an extended 1:1.9-2.9 ratio range because SL28 at light roast resists extraction at standard 1:2 ratios, leaving the shot under-extracted and acid-dominant. At 9 bars through 195μm, the pressure extracts SL28's honey-process cherry and plum character in the a layered shot with fruit leading to sweetness, producing a layered shot if the ratio is pulled toward 1:2.5 or longer. SL28's WCR classification as exceptional quality at altitude supports this: the variety carries sufficient flavor complexity to produce interesting espresso despite the light roast challenges. The 92°C temperature is the minimum needed to extract through the solubility resistance; going lower produces consistently sour shots regardless of grind adjustment.

Moka Pot scores 44/100 for Cerro San Luis Honey SL28 because the metal mesh allows the honey-process mucilage oils to pass directly into the brew. SL28's Bourbon-lineage genetics mean the variety carries significant bright fruit acidity, which expresses cleanly through a paper filter but can read sharp and slightly astringent in a metal-filtered concentrated extraction. The 295μm grind is the coarsest safe setting for this Moka Pot recipe; finer grind increases back-pressure risk. Pre-boiled water is essential — SL28's honey process produces fruit compounds (cherry, plum) that degrade if the grounds are subjected to slow steam heating before water extraction begins. The Moka Pot will express this bean's fruit character, but the resolution of peach tea will be largely absent: the metal filter's oil contribution and the concentrated extraction will dominate.

French Press scores 40/100 for Cerro San Luis Honey because the metal mesh passes the honey process processing oils into the cup, adding body but at the cost of the clarity that SL28's bright acidity and honey-fruit character requires to resolve distinctly. The cherry and plum notes from the honey process will be present but muted inside an oilier, heavier mouthfeel than the bean's paper-filter expression. SL28's large beans can generate uneven grind particles — even at 945μm coarseness, some fine particles pass the French Press mesh and contribute localized over-extraction bitterness to the cup. Using Hoffmann's extended settling method (steep 4 minutes, wait 5-8 more before pouring) significantly improves clarity by allowing those fines to settle before they reach the cup. The peach tea floral notes are the most suppressed in French Press — this compound's delicate floral-fruit expression is easily masked by oil body.