Costa Rica Finca Las Lajas

Unavailable About Profile Francisca Cubillo and Oscar Chacón began processing their own coffee in 2005, right in the middle of the micro-mill revolution which transformed the Costa Rican green coffee industry. The revolution went on to have an impact on the wider industry around the coffee-growing world and was part of the big changes in specialty coffee in the early 2000s. These massive, industry-wide changes have led to many great coffees and terrific stories. One of the best stories must be the way in which the Chacón Cubillo family became one of the best processors of natural coffees in Costa Rica. In 2005, the family were just beginning to process their own coffee and started with what became known as Honey Process. In this process, the skin and most of the mucilage is removed from the parchment-covered bean, and the resulting product left to dry before the parchment is removed just prior to shipping. This process requires electricity to power the pulping machine, and flowing water, to help remove the skin and some mucilage, and move the coffee through the facility. This process uses much less water than a Traditional Washed Process and is the method the nascent processors first trialled due to the water protection legislation the Costa Rican government of the time enacted. The family were pretty great at this method, and in 2008 their coffee placed eight in the Costa Rican Cup of Excellence. During the 2009 crop, disaster struck when a local earthquake knocked out the power and water supply for over a week. The crop had to be harvested, and the family had no choice but to process their coffee using the Natural method. This method is the most straightforward but is fraught with challenges – the coffee needs constant attention, and almost constant movement, to stop any off flavours developing. It was an absolute success, and the first crop of what is now known as Perla Negra was sold. We have been buying Perla Negra from Finca Las Lajas since 2011, and before that we had their Honey Process coffees. The farm and the micro-mill have expanded in that time and has become known for its natural process coffees. The mill and patio areas are beautifully maintained and have recently been painted by a local street artist. A large mural of a sloth is their most recent addition. Sloths are endemic to Costa Rica and admired for their absolute energy efficiency. Process Perla Negra, Natural Process Varietal Caturra Region Poás Volcano, Central Valley Grind Guide Ca