Costa Rica's Lajas Estate: Alma Negra & Perla Negra

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Alma Negra & Perla Negra: Premium Coffee Processing Methods

When Lajas processes its own organic coffee cherries, the lots it exports are named Perla Negra, meaning Black Pearl processing, while lots processed for surrounding farmers with the same Perla Negra technique are named Alma Negra, meaning Black Soul. During cherry grading, a BRIX meter is used to reselect cherries that meet the sugar standard from the hand-picked red fruit. Then nearly 100% of the pulp and mucilage is retained and the cherries are placed on African drying beds for a fully temperature-controlled, low-temperature fermentation, covered with plastic sheets for shade and turned on a regular schedule every day; most drying in Costa Rica is done on cement floors instead.

Perla Negra (Black Pearl)

Natural processing, placed on raised beds for drying with regular turning.

Alma Negra (Black Soul)

Natural processing, placed on raised beds for drying with only a few turns per day.

Compared with Perla Negra, Alma Negra is turned less often, which produces a higher level of fermentation but also carries a greater risk of failure. Under Lajas's meticulous handling, this Alma Negra has become an exceptional natural-processed coffee, with rich flavors, a full and round mouthfeel, and a long-lasting aftertaste. Brewing the green beans produced by Lajas's different processes and comparing them side by side is a genuinely special experience.

Recommended Brewing Method

FrontStreet Coffee suggests pour-over brewing:

Recommended Brewing Method: Pour-over

Dripper: Hario V60

Water Temperature: 90°C

Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15

Grind Size: BG 5R (China standard 58% pass-through rate on #20 sieve)

Brewing Technique: 32 g of water for a 32-second bloom, then pour in segments to 126 g. When the water level drops to just above the coffee bed, continue pouring to 228 g and stop. When the level drops to just above the bed again, remove the dripper. Timing starts from the beginning of the bloom, and total extraction time is 1 minute 50 seconds.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

The V60 named in the recipe above is the brewer FrontStreet Coffee reaches for most often, and it is worth understanding why. Hario, the Tokyo glassmaker that designed the V60, was founded in 1921 and originally made heat-resistant glassware for research institutions; its heat-resistant server is still a popular companion for pour-over. In 2004 Hario redesigned the V60 prototype into the shape we know today, named for its distinctive 60-degree cone angle and V form, and released it the following year. The cone and 60-degree angle force water toward the center before it drips into the server, extending contact between water and grounds so aromas and flavors extract fully, while a single large hole lets the flow run unobstructed, so the speed of the brew depends largely on the pourer's control and shows directly in the cup.

That fast extraction makes the V60 a natural match for floral, fruit-forward coffees, and FrontStreet's lineup has several. FrontStreet Gotiti Cooperative, with its classic Yirgacheffe jasmine and citrus profile, and FrontStreet Hambela, rich in tropical fruit, are both excellent through a V60, as is FrontStreet Strawberry Candy with its Geisha-like floral character. All of them reward the V60's ability to draw out lifted aromatics and lively acidity.

Today V60s come in many materials, including the resin version FrontStreet favors, plus ceramic, glass, copper, and stainless steel. The material affects the look, weight, and heat transfer of the brewer, and so makes subtle differences to extraction, but the structure stays the same. FrontStreet leans toward the resin Hario V60 above all: resin blocks heat loss effectively, and in standard industrial production it is the easiest material to mold with the smallest tolerance.