We taste: grape candy, berries, bubble gum

Farm: Las Lajas
Region: Sabanilla de Alajuela, Central Valley
Processing Method: Natural (Perla Negra)
Elevation: 1,450–1,600 msl
Varieties: Caturra, Catuai

For the fifth year in a row, we're excited to bring you more delicious coffee from third generation coffee producers Dona Francisca and Don Oscar Chacon. We love working with Oscar and Francisca because of their commitment to quality and innovation. Coffee is more than just in their family heritage: It's in their hearts and souls as well. The coffee from Las Lajas is among the cleanest, sweetest "honey” and naturally processed coffees we've ever had.

Processing refers to what the coffee cherry goes through to remove the outer cherry skin and pulp. If the coffee cherry is allowed to dry around the bean without being washed, it's a "natural" or "dry" process. If the coffee cherry is fully removed along with all of the mucilage, it's considered to be a "washed" process. Honey processed coffees fall in between those two methods and can also involve extending the drying time of the coffee to varying degrees. All of these actions impact the flavor of the finished cup.

These days, Las Lajas focuses on several variations of both Honey and Natural process. This year, we selected their Perla Negra Natural. For reference, last year, we carried their Red Honey processed coffee.

Check out their current processes :

• Yellow Honey: Coffee is turned hourly on raised beds for a few days, then transferred to a greenhouse and turned regularly.

• Red Honey: Coffee is turned several times a day and dried for longer in the greenhouse.

• Black Honey: Coffee is turned once a day.

• Perla Negra Natural: Coffee dries directly in the sun for 10 days, rotating constantly, and then is transferred to bags and left for 2–3 days before being moved to raised beds.

• Alma Negra: Drying starts in the greenhouse for a few days. Then it is brought to the greenhouse and piled up at night and moved to the raised beds during the sunshine hours.

For more info on Las Lajas, check out this video.