Costa Rica Las Lajas Black Honey

This coffee comes to us from the Las Lajas farm and micro-mill located in the foothills of the Poas Volcano, just outside of the small town of Sabanilla in Alajuela, Central Valley, Costa Rica. The Central Valley region is a high elevation plateau with the Central Mountain Range to the north and the Talamanca Range to the south. The country’s more than 60 volcanoes create fertile, mineral rich soil, perfect for growing high quality coffee. The farm's 38 hectares of land are divided into several parcels, each of which is home to a different mix of native shade trees, creating a variety of unique micro-climates.

There is a rich tradition of farming in the Chacón family; generations have owned and produced coffee on their land for more than 80 years. Oscar and Francisca Chacón are third-generation coffee producers, but coffee is more than just part of their family heritage, it's in their hearts and souls. The couple is committed to quality and innovation, and were among the first farmers in Costa Rica to produce honey and natural process specialty coffees. Las Lajas was one of the first farms in the country to cultivate organic coffee and remains one of the only certified-organic farms in Costa Rica.

Leaders in organic growing and sustainable practices, Francisca and Oscar believe in the preservation of the environment and protecting the beautiful natural wildlife of Costa Rica. They helped start the movement from high water usage washed processes towards lower impact honey and natural coffees. Inspired by the 2008 earthquake that cut off the mill's access to water, the Chacóns started experimenting with new processing methods. "At first, we didn't know what we were doing," Oscar explains. "We were just experimenting." Their enterprise led to the exciting new flavor profiles Las Lajas is famous for.

Today, the Chacóns produce a wide range of honey process coffees, modulating the drying times, methods, and other details to create desirable cup flavors year after year. Considered pioneers of honey and natural coffees in Central America, they consistently produce unique and exceptional coffees. Water use at Las Lajas is minimal and Francisca and Oscar continue to innovate new ways to lower their environmental impact.

San Isidro, a variety developed in Costa Rica, is a Sarchimor hybrid with many subsets of the variety. The plant is medium tall with an average bean size and high yield potential. It produces a high-quality cup while being hardy and tolerant to stressors like frost, disease, and pests, including coffee leaf rust.

For this lot, only perfectly ripe cherries are carefully hand picked and immediately delivered to the micro-mill. There they are meticulously sorted to remove any cherries that are damaged or under ripe, selecting only the best quality cherries with the highest sugar content.

For this special Black Honey process, the selected cherries are depulped with a water-saving machine called a Penagos Aquapulper. The apparatus is calibrated to leave the sticky, sugar-rich mucilage intact around the cherry's parchment layer. The coffee is moved to raised African beds and allowed to sit undisturbed for 2 days. On the third day, the coffee is slowly turned to reduce the humidity and allow for even drying. This continues 3 to 4 times a day while the coffee slow dries for 15 to 20 days.