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FrontStreet Coffee — Costa Rica Las Lajas Alma Negra Introduction

Finca Las Lajas Alma Negra

Costa Rica · Alma Negra

Country: Costa Rica

Region: Central Valley

Altitude: 1300-1500M

Processing Method: Natural Process

Grade: SHB

Variety: Caturra, Catuai

Region Introduction

Costa Rica sits in Central America and was among the first countries in the region to introduce and cultivate coffee. Its coffee history is long, and the country's coffee organization runs a complete system spanning production to sales.

Occupying the Central American isthmus, Costa Rica has extremely fertile volcanic soil with excellent drainage. Coffee-growing areas on the Central Plateau in particular benefit from rich volcanic ash, a mild and suitable climate, and stable, abundant rainfall, making coffee one of Costa Rica's principal agricultural products.

Central Valley

At 1,200-1,600 meters, with a harvest season from November to March, this region has three sub-regions: San José, Heredia, and Alajuela.

Three high-altitude volcanoes — Irazú, Barva, and Poás — supply rich nutrients to the surrounding coffee areas. The excellent microclimate, combined with the fertile soils around Poás and Barva, gives beans from this region superior character: chocolate and cocoa flavors, bright fruit acidity, and elegant aromas.

The Central Valley was also the earliest part of Costa Rica to cultivate coffee, before the industry spread to other regions. With moderate rainfall, an average annual temperature of 19°C, and high altitude, the beans are hard, aromatic, smooth, highly acidic, full-bodied, and richly fragrant; the volcanic soil sometimes imparts chocolate notes. The beans are washed in the early stages and machine-dried at low temperatures later on.

Estate Introduction

Among Costa Rica's currently popular refined natural and honey processing methods, Las Lajas Estate was one of the first to research and implement them systematically, and for years it has been highly favored by buyers worldwide.

Las Lajas is currently run by third-generation owner Francisca Cubillo and her husband Oscar. The estate lies in the Central Valley, not far from the capital and very close to Poás Volcano, at an altitude of 1,250-1,500 meters, with an annual production of approximately 55,200 kilograms.

Years ago, Francisca hoped to push the estate's flavor expression further. At the time, the vast majority of Costa Rican farmers used traditional washed processing to satisfy the American and European markets, so the owner set about researching and upgrading equipment and facilities across the estate to better serve natural and honey processing.

During harvest, the owner uses a sweetness tester (BRIX) to screen cherries that meet the standard, has built the estate's own washing station, and finishes the beans on African drying beds for sun drying.

For the coffees processed at Las Lajas, the owner grades the honey and natural lots by their flavor expression. In honey processing, most Costa Rican farmers control the amount of pulp retained with the depulper at the washing station. Las Lajas chose a different path: retaining 100% of the mucilage and instead controlling drying time and turning frequency on the African beds to create different flavor expressions, dividing the honey lots into yellow honey, red honey, and black honey.

The estate also strictly requires all fertilization to follow organic standards, using homemade organic compost throughout and extending organic practice to soil quality, shade trees, and washing-station procedures. After years of effort, Las Lajas has earned JAS (Japan) organic certification as well as USDA and NOP certification from the United States.

Processing Method

The Alma Negra beans are natural processed. The harvested cherries go onto African drying beds in the early morning, are turned regularly throughout the day in the sun, then covered with plastic sheets for shade rest until they reach 11.5% moisture content. The entire process takes approximately three weeks.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation: Natural-Processed Beauties from Around the World

Alma Negra shows how expressive naturals can be; FrontStreet Coffee offers two more to explore. Our Yirgacheffe Natural Red Cherry uses only fully ripe whole-red cherries, sun-dried on raised beds for 27-30 days and turned regularly to prevent uneven heating — roasted medium-light, it layers elegant florals and bright acidity over clear tropical fruit, full fermentation sweetness, and a honeyed body. Then there is the Ethiopia Hua Kui, a Sidamo natural roasted medium-light for light fermentation florals, citrus and mango, honey sweetness, a cocoa note with gentle spice, and a thick, lasting finish — a faithful echo of what natural processing does best.