How Does Yellow Honey Coffee Processing Work at Las Lajas?
Las Lajas Estate sits in Sabanilla, in Costa Rica's Central Valley at the foot of Poás Volcano, at 1,300 to 1,500 meters, and grows Caturra and Catuai. Its yellow honey processing leaves part of the fruit mucilage on the bean during drying, producing a cup layered with honey, tropical fruit, maple syrup, and melon, graded SHB.
Las Lajas is one of the first estates in Central America to use honey processing and natural sun-drying. Third-generation operator Francisca introduced a refractometer to read the sugar content of the cherries, sun-drying only fruit above 20 percent Brix; Las Lajas cherries reach 21 to 22 percent. The estate became Costa Rica's first organically certified farm in 2000, an early example of controlled coffee process design.
Las Lajas Estate is located in Sabanilla, in the Central Valley region of Costa Rica, at the foot of Poás Volcano, and is renowned for its yellow honey-processed coffee. The estate sits at an altitude of 1,300 to 1,500 meters and cultivates Caturra and Catuai varieties, with a flavor profile layered with honey, tropical fruit, maple syrup, and melon. Las Lajas is one of the first estates in Central America to experiment with honey processing and natural sun-drying. Third-generation operator Francisca introduced a refractometer to measure the sugar content of coffee cherries, sun-drying only those fruits with a sweetness above 20%. The estate adheres to natural farming methods and became Costa Rica's first organically certified estate in 2000. Front Street recommends this coffee, and below is a detailed account of its origin, varieties, processing method, and flavor.
Front Street Costa Rica Las Lajas Estate Coffee Flavor Description, Taste, Variety, Origin, Processing Method Introduction
Las Lajas Estate Yellow Honey
Country: Costa Rica;
Region: Central Valley
Grade: SHB;
Processing Method: Yellow Honey
Altitude: 1,300–1,500 meters;
Varieties: Caturra, Catuai
CUPPING NOTES: Honey, Tropical Fruit, Maple Syrup, Melons
West Valley—Las Lajas is located in Sabanilla de Alajuela, in the Central Valley region, at the foot of Poás Volcano. Strictly speaking, "Las Lajas" is actually the name of the Chacón family's processing plant; the estate's name is Finca La Mirella, but roasters around the world have become accustomed to calling it Finca Las Lajas. Las Lajas is also the first estate in Central America to begin honey processing and natural sun-drying methods. Sun-drying is a very traditional practice that uses the fewest resources, but because there are too many uncontrollable factors, doing it well is extremely difficult. Francisca added many innovations, for example, she used a Brix meter—often found in the wine industry—to measure the sugar content of the fruit, deciding the optimal harvest timing and processing method based on Brix sugar content; only those exceeding 20% sweetness would be sun-dried. For typical fruit Brix values, an apple is 14, a lemon 12, and passion fruit 18, but Las Lajas coffee cherries can reach 21–22%. The small Las Lajas coffee processing facility has over 80 years of coffee growing and processing history. In 1995, because the second-generation operator of the small Las Lajas coffee processing facility passed away from cancer, the third-generation successors Francisca and Oscar Chacón, a married couple, suspected that the chemical fertilizers and pesticides used on the farm were the cause of the illness. Since then, they switched to natural, homemade compost and adopted natural farming methods friendly to the environment and ecology to treat their coffee crops. After 5 years of unremitting effort, the analysis of the farm's soil, branches and leaves, and fruit all passed. In 2000, Las Lajas became the first estate in Costa Rica to obtain organic certification.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
