Costa Rica Las Lajas

What We Taste: strawberry jam + golden raisin + hibiscus + velvety

If you’ve spent time in our Monterey cafe, you know we love Bob Ross, and in the words of our dear friend Bobby, “We don’t make mistakes, just happy accidents”. Our new single origin, Las Lajas from Costa Rica, produced by Oscar and Francisca Chacon, perfectly exemplifies taking advantage of less than ideal conditions:

After an earthquake in 2006 cut off access to water and electricity for several weeks in the foothills of the Poas Volcano, just outside of Sabanilla, Costa Rica, it became nearly impossible to continue producing washed coffees. This is where coffee cherries are picked and the beans are extracted in a mill before being washed. Oscar and Francisca saw an opportunity to test out natural coffee processes, where coffee cherries are picked and dried as-is, fruit intact. The Las Lajas Beneficio farm, which has been in the Chacon family for over three generations, is the first to bring natural coffee processing to Costa Rica, and is credited with the invention of Black Honey Processing. Most common in Ethiopia and Brazil, natural coffees create a fruitier, specialty coffee that’s highly sought after due in part to the longer drying process. With 100% of the dried mucilage - or fruit debris - left on the coffee, it takes 17-25 days to dry in a solar dryer, and is turned over daily to air out from all angles.

In roasting and tasting, we found this coffee fascinating due to the myriad of complex flavors and layers. When hot, the coffee produces a cozy, velvety feel with warmer notes, but as it opens up with cooling temperatures, it releases intensely fruity notes of strawberry jam and golden raisin. This coffee takes you on a journey. In conversation we collectively landed on that journey feeling like a foggy, chilly spring morning with sun sparkling on the dew, and as the sun burns off the fog, it transforms into a lively, summer beach day lounging with a picnic basket full of fruit. We hope you enjoy this exciting coffee as much as we do, and we can’t wait to hear: What’s your Las Lajas journey?