Introduction to Costa Rica's Las Lajas Estate - How to Brew Costa Rican Coffee

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Among the currently popular refined natural and honey processing methods in Costa Rica, Las Lajas Estate is one of the first estates to systematically research and implement these techniques. For many years, it has been a coffee estate highly favored by global buyers. Las Lajas Estate is currently jointly operated by the third-generation owner Francisca Cubillo and her husband Oscar. The estate is located in the Central Valley region, not far from the capital, and is quite close to Poas Volcano. The altitude ranges between 1,250-1,500 meters, with an annual production of approximately 55,200 kilograms.

Years ago, estate owner Francisca hoped to further enhance the flavor expression of the coffee grown on the estate. At that time, the vast majority of coffee farmers in Costa Rica generally used traditional washed processing methods to supply the American and European markets. Therefore, the estate owner began to research and improve many pieces of equipment within the estate to better meet the needs of natural and honey-processed coffee. During the harvesting stage, the estate owner uses a Brix meter to screen coffee cherries that meet standards, while also establishing their own washing station for coffee processing, and finally placing them on African drying beds for subsequent sun-drying.

Among the coffees processed at Las Lajas Estate, the owner categorizes honey-processed and natural coffees into different items based on their flavor expressions. For honey processing, most Costa Rican farmers use the depulpers at their washing stations to control the amount of retained pulp. However, Las Lajas Estate decided to adopt another approach: retaining 100% of the pulp while controlling the drying time and turning frequency on African drying beds to present different coffee flavor expressions. In honey processing, the estate divides the coffee into yellow honey, red honey, and black honey.

FrontStreet Coffee's Recommended Brewing Parameters:

Pour-over: V60 dripper, Fuji R440 grind setting 3.5, water temperature around 90°C

French Press: Recommended grind setting 4, water temperature 90°C

Siphon: Recommended grind setting 4, water temperature 90°C-91°C

AeroPress: Recommended grind setting 3.5, water temperature 90°C

Important Notice :

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