
Costa Rica - Las Lajas, Yellow Honey
$7.85 per pound
Cupping Score | 84 |
Fragrance/Aroma |
Melon, lemon curd, grape, kiwi, orange zest clean, shortbread |
Acidity |
Tart, winey, orange |
Flavor/Nuances |
Hibiscus, tangerine, floral, golden raisin, peach, white wine |
Sweetness |
Candy-like, pink Starburst |
Body/Mouthfeel |
Juicy, syrupy |
Finish/Aftertaste |
Refreshing |
This item typically leaves our Minneapolis warehouse within 1-2 business days of payment.
We offer several carriers & speeds. Add items to your cart to calculate your options.
Sorry, no returns on coffee.
In Our Roastery
The Las Lajas Micromill is well known in the coffee industry. A quick Google search for the farm will yield results from roasters all over the world. These greens sell fast, both at the retail and the importer level, due to their popularity and recognizable farm name.
We recently ran out of the white honey processed coffee from the same farm and sourced this yellow honey to take its place. It's so fun to have the opportunity to taste different processing methods from the same place, focusing on the impact of processing while keeping the regional flavors the same. In the white honey processed coffee, we experienced refined sweetness with notes of berries, peaches, and chocolate. The yellow honey is more floral, citrusy, and tropical.
In Your Lineup
In general, honey and natural processed coffees are best enjoyed at lighter roast levels. Roasting dark can eliminate the fruity and floral characteristics that make these coffees popular. For this specific coffee, a lighter roast will help showcase all of the hard work that took place at the farm, the mill, and the importer to help bring this coffee to us. Candy-like sweetness, winey acidity, and vibrant tropical flavors make this coffee super special and memorable.
This offering from Las Lajas is a great option for a single-origin offering. In a blend, this coffee brings sparkling acidity and liveliness to the mix, elevating the cup to become greater than the sum of its parts.
Use our Profile
RoastPATH® profile recorded on an MCR-6 while roasting a 6 pound batch.
0:00 | 465°F | Charge |
1:36 | Turning Point | |
4:38 | Green < Yellow | |
9:15 | First Crack | |
11:16 | 391°F | Drop |
Origin: Costa Rica
Region: Sabanilla de Alajuela
Mill: Finca Las Lajas
Variety: Caturra and Catuai
Process Method: Yellow Honey
Altitude: 1400-1600 masl
RoastPATH® ID: CI188-A02-1081
Oscar and Francisca Chacón are third-generation coffee producers, but the coffee is more than just in their family heritage: It’s in their hearts and souls as well. The couple is committed to quality and innovation, and are among the very first farmers in Costa Rica to produce Honey and Natural process specialty coffee.
In 2005, after years of delivering their cherry to a cooperative for the going market price, they decided to join the brand-new “micromill revolution” and buy their own depulper to have more control over the quality and the price they received for their lots. “At first, we didn’t know what we were doing,” Oscar explains. “We were just experimenting.” That experimentation led to some of the most exciting new flavor profiles we have ever tasted: Now, the Chacons produce a wide range of Honey process coffees, modulating the drying time in order to create different effects in the cup.
Necessity bred more innovation for the family when an earthquake in 2008 wiped out electricity and water to their area during the harvest. Unable to run the depulpers or to wash the mucilage off to produce Washed lots, Francisca took inspiration from her knowledge of African coffee production and quickly built raised beds on the property. Their Natural lots caught the attention of Cafe Imports’ founder Andrew Miller, and the rest is both history and our-story.