How Does This Coffee Farm Handle Natural Processing?
Finca Las Lajas is a family coffee farm in Costa Rica's Central Valley, on the slopes of the Poás volcano, run by the Chacón family for more than eighty years. Its natural batch Alma Negra comes from Caturra and Catuai trees grown at 1,300 to 1,500 meters and shows dried-fruit and molasses notes in the cup.
Only fully ripe deep red cherries are picked, then dried on African raised beds so the process stays even and over-fermentation is avoided. Annual green bean output is about 46,000 kilograms, harvested from December to February. Organic work began in 1990, and in 2000 the estate became the first in Costa Rica to gain certification, recognized by USDA, JAS and NOP.
Located in Costa Rica's Central Valley, on the slopes of the Poás volcano, Finca Las Lajas has become a name impossible to overlook on the country's coffee map, thanks to over eighty years of family cultivation and a commitment to organic farming. The owning Chacón family is known for its rigorous harvesting standards and innovative processing methods, among which the natural batch "Alma Negra" stands out among natural coffees with its dried-fruit and molasses-like profile. This article will give you a comprehensive understanding of the estate's geographical advantages, its organic certification journey, and the division of its honey and natural product lines, as well as a detailed presentation of Front Street Coffee's roasting curve and cupping performance, offering coffee lovers a complete tasting reference.
Front Street Costa Rica Finca Las Lajas Alma Negra
Origin: Costa Rica
Product Name: Finca Las Lajas Alma Negra
Region: Central Valley
Grade: SHB
Processing Method: Natural
Growing Altitude: 1,300–1,500 meters
Variety: Caturra & Catuai
Finca Las Lajas sits at the foot of the Pos de Alajuela volcano, belongs to the Central Valley production region, and has been managed by the Chacón family for over eighty years. The estate's altitude ranges between 1,300 and 1,500 meters, with an annual green bean output of about 46,000 kilograms. The harvest season usually runs from December to February of the following year. The estate owner picks only fully ripe, deep red cherries, and makes extensive use of honey and natural processes to enhance the coffee's sweetness and body, while placing the cherries on African raised-bed drying patios so that the natural drying process is more even and over-fermentation is prevented. The estate has also actively applied for international organic certification and has so far been recognized by institutions including USDA, JAS and NOP.
Finca Las Lajas is located in Costa Rica's renowned Central Valley production region, within the Poás volcanic mountain range. The local soil is fertile and rich in minerals, providing ideal conditions for cultivating high-quality coffee. The estate is widely noticed not only for its outstanding performance in the cup, but also for its long-standing commitment to organic ecological farming—it began introducing organic cultivation in 1990, and in 2000 became Costa Rica's first coffee estate to obtain organic certification, and to date it has been certified by three international institutions: USDA, JAS and NOP. The estate's third-generation operator Oscar Chacón once admitted that pursuing organic certification was not only full of difficulties in agricultural technology, but also brought economic pressure from reduced yields; in the third year of implementation, annual output once fell to only twenty percent of the original. Yet these challenges did not shake their determination to persist with organic farming, because abandoning chemical fertilizers and pesticides can both maintain environmental sustainability and safeguard the health of coffee farmers.
《Innovative Natural Processing: Alma Negra》
All green bean processing at Finca Las Lajas uses only two methods, honey and natural, and on this basis it has developed a distinctive product line. Honey processing is divided into yellow, red and black honey according to the amount of remaining mucilage; for natural processing, two products are offered according to different degrees of fermentation: Pearl Negra and Alma Negra. Pearl Negra displays a rich, bold fruity fermented flavor, while Alma Negra leans more toward the profile of natural dried fruit and molasses. Both belong to the currently popular natural processing method, yet they present entirely different styles.
FrontStreet Coffee Roasting
Roaster: Yangjia 800N semi-direct fire (batch size 300g)
Charge the beans when the drum temperature is preheated to 170°C, with the damper set to 3; after 30 seconds, raise the gas to 140; the turning point appears at 1 minute 36 seconds, at a temperature of 101.6; when 140°C is reached, the gas remains unchanged and the damper is opened to 4. At 5 minutes 15 seconds the bean surface turns yellow, the grassy scent dissipates, and the dehydration stage begins; both the gas and the damper remain unchanged.
At 8 minutes 07 seconds dehydration is complete, wrinkles and dark patches appear on the bean surface, and the toasted bread aroma gradually turns into coffee aroma, meaning first crack is imminent, so one must listen carefully for the sound of first crack. First crack begins at 8 minutes 50 seconds, the damper is fully opened to 5, and the gas remains unchanged. After first crack, develop for 1 minute 55 seconds, and drop the beans at 195°C.
The Agtron bean color value is 70 (upper image), the Agtron ground color value is 81.5 (lower image), and the Roast Delta value is 11.5.
FrontStreet Coffee cupping flavor: fermented fruit, floral, citrus, plum, fruit tea. The sweet-acidity is pronounced, the juicy feel is abundant, and the overall balance is good.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
