As a part of the sprawling Las Lajas organization, this farm produces incredibly high quality micro-lots like this SL34. Each year we visit them at the end of harvest to cup through offerings, where we select both our large Las Lajas natural, as well as select varieties like SL28 and SL34. This SL34 lot stood out on the cupping table as something altogether different, with strong red fruit notes and florals unique to this variety and farm.

Oscar and Francisca Chacon gained considerable notoriety within the specialty coffee market in the early 2000s when their processing facility suddenly stopped due to an earthquake, inhibiting their ability to adequately remove the fruit from the seeds of their fresh harvest before drying. At this time, washed coffees dominated the market in Costa Rica and Central America generally, and honey processing techniques didn’t exist. This fortuitous malfunction resulted in a harvest that was partially washed and partially ‘pulped natural’, or ‘honey’. To their surprise, they noticed buyers consistently offering higher prices for the honey-processed lots than they were for the more traditional offerings. They saw the opportunity and were inspired to embrace the challenge.

Over the next decade, they began experimenting with precise and consistent dry processing techniques and fermentation methods to bring something new to specialty coffee in Costa Rica. Their success reverberated throughout the industry as roasters flocked to the market, propagating a new era of coffee production potential in Costa Rica.

Traditionally, it is unusual for coffee farmers to roast, taste, and evaluate their coffee before it is priced and exported. It is even more uncommon for producers to reserve even the smallest portion of their crop for personal consumption. Historically speaking, the only meaningful indicator that farmers have ever relied on to measure the success of their harvest has been the cup score they receive from prospective buyers. Seeing this phenomenon occur firsthand while selling their own coffee, the Chacons took a risk and purchased their own roasting machine in 2016. With the newfound ability to taste, experiment, and measure the performance of each of their lots season over season, Oscar and Francisca could finally take long-term success into their own hands - all while paving the way for other local farmers to follow in their footsteps. These days, Las Lajas is broadly considered the premier micro mill in Costa Rica and maintains considerable prestige in coffee production across the western hemisphere.

While Las Lajas may have a history in honey processing, they’ve mastered the skills required to excel in natural processing as well. The incidental revelation of dry processing and the delicious potential of such techniques have forced them to become adept in the sensitive nature of fermentation; whatever shape it takes. This knowledge has equipped them to successfully administer a large spectrum of techniques within their post-harvest processing protocols, creating an impressive portfolio of coffees for international roasters to choose from.