Costa Rica, La Pastora

The V60 recipe for this Costa Rica runs at 430μm — 70μm finer than default and the finest pour-over grind for this bean. That deep fines adjustment is the combined effect of light roast (-40μm) and 1,900m altitude (-30μm). At Tarrazú's top-end elevation, the bean density is among the highest you'll encounter in Costa Rican specialty, and the Caturra-Catuai mix compounds this — Caturra's Bourbon-lineage genetics produce dense, hard beans requiring more surface area to yield proper extraction. The V60's fast drainage is particularly well-matched to a fine grind here: the finer cut increases fines production which slows flow, counterbalancing the V60's natural tendency toward fast drawdown. The result brings the 94°C water into extended contact with the dense bean particles, driving extraction into the range where the plum malic acid note reads as a full stone-fruit sweetness rather than sharp tartness.

The Kalita Wave's flat-bed design is particularly valuable for this Costa Rica because Caturra-Catuai produces relatively uniform particle sizes at a given grind setting — more predictable than Ethiopian heirlooms, which produce elevated fines. Uniform particle distribution across a flat bed means the Kalita's even flow characteristic is fully realized: water contacts all particles at similar rates, preventing the edge-vs-center channeling that can develop in conical drippers with this fine a grind. At 460μm and 94°C, this is the middle ground between pour-over clarity and immersion body. The almond-gingersnap character from Strecker degradation comes through in the mid-palate while the plum malic acid note opens the cup on the front. The 1:16.5 ratio is slightly leaner than the V60, which works because the Wave's longer contact time compensates with extraction yield.

The AeroPress brews this Costa Rican at 85°C with a 330μm grind — 70μm finer than standard, accounting for both light roast density and the 1,900m altitude. The fine grind maximizes surface area, keeping extraction yield adequate within the short 1-2 minute brew window. At this grind size, the AeroPress's immersion format naturally keeps acidity balanced rather than sharp, since the even saturation avoids the channeling that fine grinds can cause in pour-over methods. The combined result pulls the almond and gingersnap Maillard compounds into the cup at the 1:12.5 ratio where they read with enough concentration to register. In the AeroPress's concentrated format, these sweet, nutty notes become the dominant character — a real strength of this brewer for a bean with this flavor profile.

The Clever Dripper's immersion-then-drain mechanism is a particularly interesting fit for this 1,900m Caturra-Catuai. During the 3-4 minute steep, the higher-density altitude-grown beans have uniform temperature exposure across the entire dose simultaneously — no progressive wetting dynamics that might leave some particles under-soaked. At 94°C and 460μm, the immersion phase extracts efficiently through these dense particles. The key distinction from the French Press is what drains: the paper filter strips the oils and micro-fines that would cloud Caturra's clean citric character. What you get is a cup with the extraction evenness benefits of immersion plus the clarity benefits of paper filtration. The almond-gingersnap Maillard character reads cleanly without the sediment that a metal filter would introduce; the plum malic acid note has room to register without competing with oil-derived mouthfeel.

This is the most technically demanding format for this bean. Light-roast espresso adjustments apply because 1,900m Caturra-Catuai at light roast presents the hardest extraction challenge in the espresso context: extremely low solubility, very high density, the dense, extraction-resistant structure of light roasting creating significant puck resistance at fine grind settings. The 180μm target grind is 70μm finer than default — the altitude-driven finer grind applies here just as in pour-over, requiring more surface area to extract through the dense bean structure. The 1:2.4 ratio (longer than a traditional 1:2 ristretto) is deliberate: more output water means more yield extraction, necessary when the bean resists dissolving. Preinfusion at low pressure before full 9-bar extraction wets the puck uniformly, preventing channeling that would underextract through gaps while overextracting adjacent areas. The almond-gingersnap Maillard character becomes syrupy and concentrated under pressure; the plum note reads as bright berry acidity.

The moka pot recipe for this bean adjusts grind 70μm finer than default to account for both the light roast and the high altitude. The 94°C temperature reflects the standard roast-level adjustment (-2°C from the pour-over default), controlling extraction to prevent the 1,900m bean's concentrated soluble load from over-extracting under steam pressure. The 280μm grind is finer than comparable medium-roast moka pot recipes, driving more surface area into contact with the steam-pressure water. At the moka pot's 1.5 bar, the 1:9.5 ratio concentrates the cup considerably. The almond-gingersnap Strecker compounds survive moka pot temperatures and concentrate into a rich, nutty mid-palate; the plum malic note reads sharper than in pour-over but still identifiable.

French Press at 76/100 represents the lowest clarity outcome for this bean. Washed 1,900m Caturra-Catuai's defining character is acid clarity — the almond and gingersnap are Maillard-derived and water-soluble, but the plum malic note is subtle enough that competing elements from metal mesh filtration (oils, micro-fines, fine sediment) can mask it. The 930μm grind is among the coarsest in the recipe set, necessary to prevent excessive fines from clogging the mesh and creating bitter over-extraction. The recipe runs 94°C rather than the standard 96°C, giving a slightly lower steep temperature that reduces bitter compound extraction during the 4-8 minute open steep. At this temperature and grind, the Caturra's citric brightness still comes through, and the almond character reads in the body, but the paper-filter clarity that makes this origin shine is absent.