Costa Rica Las Lajas and the Wonders of Good Processing
We've been roasting a brand new coffee from Costa Rica for the past couple weeks - and it's been blowing people's minds. It's a luscious, clean, and sweet coffee that has been winning "staff favorite" of our current offerings and has customers coming back for a repeat pour-over and whole bean experience.
What makes this coffee so special?
Well first of all, the people behind it are incredibly special. Don Oscar and Doña Francesca Chacon are the farm and mill owners- the mill being Las Lajas, and the farm being Finca Calle San Juan. They're third generation coffee producers who are renowned for being pioneers in Costa Rica. They were some of the first to try to hone in on the processing methods used in the country. Here's a link if you want a refresher on coffee processing methods.
This particular lot of coffee is their "red honey" processing method. Red honey entails carefully allowing the coffee to dry with the coffee fruit on the seeds for a longer period of time than normal. This longer contact time with that fruit means more fruit-like flavors being imparted into the cup. The result is a cup that is reminiscent of fruit leather (I didn't eat normal fruit snacks growing up!) or a tasty mixed berry compote. It is way more clean than a natural coffee, but has more depth and sweetness than what we normally expect from a central American coffee.
This coffee was brought in from our dear friends at Cafe Imports. They work tirelessly to help create sustainable ways to partner with farmers all over the world.
We'll be roasting this Costa Rican wonder for the rest of the summer, so grab a few bags and enjoy it through the rest of the dog days!