Costa Rica Las Lajas from Kmen Coffee Roasters is exactly the kind of coffee that can surprise you from the very first sip. In the cup, you’ll find a generous serving of tropical fruit, dominated by juicy passion fruit and sweet papaya, complemented by the fresh taste of lemonade. The result is a bold, sweet, and pleasantly funky coffee with refreshing acidity and a clean, fruity character.
The coffee comes from the family-run Las Lajas farm and processing station in the Sabanilla region of Alajuela, on the fertile slopes of the Poás volcano. The operation is run by Oscar Chacón Solano and his wife Francisca, who have long been committed to organic farming without the use of chemicals, utilizing coffee pulp as compost and striving to minimize water consumption. Las Lajas is among the pioneers of natural processing in Costa Rica, having begun experimenting with this method as early as 2006. This lot consists of the Casiopea variety, and the coffee trees grow at an elevation of up to around 1, 500 meters.
The Black Diamond lot is created through a combination of careful selection of ripe cherries, anaerobic pre-fermentation, and natural processing. After initial fermentation, the whole coffee cherries are left to dry slowly for approximately 15 to 22 days. Thanks to the long and controlled drying process, their distinctive sweetness and intense fruity character can fully develop. The result is a coffee that showcases natural processing in its bold and playful form.
- Producer: Oscar Chacón Solano and Francisca
- Farm: Las Lajas
- Elevation: up to 1,500 m above sea level