Costa Rican Miel
This has been a quiet week around the Fike ranch. Last Sunday we took the ferry to a San Francisco Giants game, and friends came over to swim on Wednesday, but otherwise it has been a calm summer week. Thunderclouds keep passing overhead, and the sunsets have been spectacular. Tomorrow we will attend the wedding of our nephew and intrepid graphic designer, Grady Fike. Congratulations to Grady and his charming fiance, Marty!
Young Giants fans.
We’re packing a pound of this Costa Rican to take with us this weekend. This Costa Rican Miel is a treat to drink. It is a honeyed Costa Rican bean (miel means honey in Spanish), which refers to the processing of the coffee. Another name for a miel bean is a pulped natural coffee, sort of in between the wet and dry process. In this case some of the skin is removed from the coffee seed, but the pulp is left intact. Then the beans are dried with the fruit still on.
Processing the coffee this way means that the coffee must be carefully dried and constantly turned to prevent molding or fermentation. It needs to be fully dried and rested before the rest of the mucilage is removed. This gives the beans a sweet, full flavor without sacrificing the clean brightness that you would expect from a Costa Rican bean.
This Costa Rican Miel has been an employee favorite over the years, on the occasions that we have been able to procure it. It has a remarkable sweetness–a honey flavor perhaps? In college I studied French, and the word for honey is the same in that language. I don’t know about Spanish, but in French the word rolls off your tongue, like the last drip of honey falls off a spoon. Come in and try a cup on us this week with the code pulped natural*.
Also, tomorrow is the annual downtown Sidewalk Sale from 9-2, with all kinds of goods marked down. Mill Street will be filled with bargains, so it’s a good time to visit. Whatever you do, drink good coffee. Enjoy!
–Holly Fike
*Code good for one free 12 ounce cup of Costa Rican. Code expires on 7.24.14. Limit one free cup per customer please. Valid only at Carolines Coffee Roasters, 128 S. Auburn Street, Grass Valley, CA. Code/Offer has no cash value.