What are the flavor notes of Costa Rica Alajuela's "Adobe Brick Farm" honey-processed coffee beans?

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What is the flavor of the honey-processed beans from the [Adobe Brick Farm] in Alajuela, Costa Rica? What are the coffee varieties in Costa Rica?

In Central American countries, the most common coffee bean processing method is the washed method. However, more and more countries are producing natural beans and the increasingly popular honey-processed beans (Miel Process), a trend that started in Costa Rica. Today, Costa Rica has developed a "micro mill" coffee revolution. The main spirit of micro mill is to enable every small Costa Rican farm to have its own bean processing system. This way, from coffee harvesting to processing and bagging, everything is handled by the farm itself without outside help, allowing them to process their coffee beans in the most suitable way to achieve the best quality and better profits for the farm. However, this also means that small farms must take responsibility for the coffee they produce and process.

The dried honey mucilage remaining on the surface of coffee beans appears yellowish-brown, and this processing method is called honey processing.

Finca Las Lajas Adobe Brick Farm is located on the volcanic foothills of Costa Rica's Central Valley at an altitude of approximately 1300-1500 meters. Coffee grows under the shade of large trees, and this is a typical micro mill small farm where coffee production is rare and very precious. After 2000, the farm began to transition to organic coffee cultivation. The farm owners believe this is beneficial for the environment and their family's health. Converting to an organic farm takes 3-5 years for pesticides and chemical fertilizers in the soil to metabolize and disappear. The results proved this was a good decision, making Finca Las Lajas a healthy and beautiful farm.

On premium coffee bags in Costa Rica, they are all labeled as high-altitude hard organic beans S.H.B ORGANICO.

Francisca and Oscar Chacón are the third-generation operators of Las Lajas, located in Sabanilla de Alajuela in Costa Rica's Central Valley, on the foothills of Poás Volcano. The Chacón family has been growing coffee for over 80 years since their grandfather's generation. In 1995, Oscar's father passed away from cancer, and they suspected that chemical fertilizers and pesticides used on the farm were the culprit. From then on, they stopped using toxic chemicals and required all processes to follow organic standards for cultivation and fertilization, using self-made organic compost. At the same time, they extended organic standards to soil quality, shade trees, and washed processing plant procedures, adopting environmentally friendly natural farming methods with native tree shade cultivation. After five years of organic cultivation, until soil, branches, leaves, and fruit analysis all qualified, in 2000, Las Lajas became the first estate in Costa Rica to receive organic certification. Currently, Las Lajas Estate has passed Japan's JAS, American USDA, and NOP organic certifications.

After obtaining the expensive organic certification, the Chacón couple went a step further and began building their own processing plant. In the past, they could only send the cherries produced by the farm to large commercial processing plants, having no control over the post-processing. Having their own washing plant to process their coffee significantly improved the overall quality.

Las Lajas Estate was the first estate in Central America to start honey processing and natural processing methods. Natural processing is a very traditional method that uses the least resources, but because there are too many uncontrollable factors, doing it well is very difficult. Las Lajas added many innovations, such as Francisca using a Brix meter, commonly equipped in the wine industry, to measure the sugar content of fruits, determining the optimal harvest time and processing method based on Brix sugar content. Only fruits with sweetness exceeding 20% would undergo natural processing. The Brix values of general fruits: apples 14%, lemons 12%, passion fruit 18%, but Las Lajas' coffee cherries can reach 21-22%!

Las Lajas not only produces natural and honey-processed beans but also washed beans. The coffee varieties grown on the farm include Caturra, Catuai, Villa Sarchi, and they have also introduced small quantities of Kenyan varieties SL28, Obata, and others. Although the estate's altitude is not very high, about 1300-1500 meters, they use unique processing methods that give Las Lajas a distinctive flavor.

This natural processed bean uses the SL28 variety, which can be said to bring the flavor of SL Kenyan beans to an incredible level!

Innovative Natural Processing: Raisin Natural Processing

In 2008, a severe earthquake struck Costa Rica, and Las Lajas had no water and no electricity for a whole week, making it impossible to perform washed processing. The workers hired by Las Lajas for harvesting were unwilling to stop work - no work meant no salary, and Las Lajas didn't want to stop work and suffer losses, so they decided to use natural processing to handle the fresh cherries. When this batch of natural processed beans was given to local cuppers, they all said the flavor was completely wrong and couldn't be sold. Las Lajas was not discouraged and gave them to green bean supplier Cafe Imports, who unexpectedly loved them very much! This opened the door for Costa Rica's first natural processed bean, and Las Lajas became famous overnight, becoming an estate known for natural and honey processing.

In the following years, Las Lajas continuously experimented with different natural processing methods, creating different flavors through different ways of using plastic covers for shading, and naming them in unique ways, breaking away from the past negative impressions of natural processing. These natural processing methods with impressive names brought global recognition to Las Lajas Estate.

Perla Negra (Black Pearl): Harvested coffee cherries are placed on African raised beds in the early morning and regularly turned for sun exposure until reaching 11.5% moisture content, taking about two weeks for the entire process.

Alma Negra (Black Soul): Harvested coffee cherries are placed on African raised beds in the early morning, regularly turned for sun exposure one day, and shaded with plastic covers for rest the next day, until reaching 11.5% moisture content, taking about three weeks for the entire process.

Raisin Natural Processing: Combining Black Pearl and Black Soul, the entire process involves shade drying for more than three weeks. First, they are spread flat on cement floors inside a greenhouse, piled into hill shapes in the afternoon, and covered with plastic for shade. The next morning, they are spread flat again. After about one to two weeks, they are moved to African raised beds under the greenhouse for shade drying. There are two sets of these three-tiered African beds, and the coffee beans are cycled through different positions up, down, left, and right daily to ensure even drying throughout until processing is complete. This longer fermentation period greatly enhances the sweetness and flavor complexity of the coffee beans.

According to green bean supplier Shanghai Kunyi, the raisin processing method was specially developed by Las Lajas for Korean contestants participating in barista competitions, unexpectedly becoming extremely popular in the Korean market. The estate experimented with raisin natural processing on two varieties: Villa Sarchi and SL28, both of which are rarer varieties on the farm. Among them, SL28 was planted starting in 2012, and four years later, in 2016, it was harvested for the first time.

This raisin natural processed bean roasted by SOE is SL28, and under this unique processing method, the flavor of the SL series is pushed to the extreme!

And the bags from micro mill small farms are generally simpler and cleaner.

Property Characteristics: Farm Features

Farm Name: Finca Las Lajas

Farmer: Chacón Solano Family

City: Foothills of the Poas Volcano, Los Angeles, Sabanilla de Alajuela

Region: Central Valley

Country: COSTA RICA

Altitude: 1300-1500 meters

Certification: Organic certified

Coffee Characteristics

Variety: Caturra and Catuai

Catuai is a hybrid of Caturra and Mundo Novo. The common characteristics of both varieties are strong, prominent acidity and complex taste. The difference is that Catuai can yield abundant harvests yearly with fewer pests and diseases, but the biggest disadvantage is the low cultivation cost and a lifespan of only 10 years.

Processing System: Honey processing method, after removing the skin and pulp, dried on raised bamboo beds at the drying field, then the parchment coffee is removed by machine.

Appearance: 17-18 screen

Grade: S.H.B

Top Jury Descriptions: Cupping roast level begins 60 seconds after first crack (Cinnamon)

Aroma/Flavor: Drupe fruit aroma, cocoa, aromatic grass, honey, almond milk, cool grass, vanilla, melon, chocolate

Acidity: Cherry, kumquat, grape, citrus, mint, silky acidity, gentle acidity

Complexity and Others: Whole wheat cookie aroma, smooth milk cream, cooked tea flavor, complex flavor and taste, rock sugar sweetness in aftertaste

Overall Style Attributes: Medium intensity, balanced sweet and sour, with wine aroma

Costa Rica's Finca Las Lajas is a farm with rare production. These are coffee beans harvested by the farm in October 2011. This batch has smooth milk cream feel, with an overall classic honey-processed bean character, and a unique whiskey wine aroma in the aftertaste that lingers.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommended Brewing Method: Pour-over

V60 dripper, 15g of coffee powder, water temperature 89°C, Fuji grinder setting 4, water-to-coffee ratio close to 1:15.

30g of water for bloom, bloom time 30s.分段: Pour water to 130g and stop, wait for the water level to drop by 1/3, then pour water again to 225g.

Important Notice :

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