Costa Rican Las Lajas Micromill – Finca Chilamate – Catuaí Red Honey

Burman Coffee Traders

Details

Origin

Costa Rica

Process

Honey

Roast Suitability

Description

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. Tasting Notes: This is a quality cup in and out. Lots of cool tones to play with in the roaster. A bit higher acidity with a strong floral aspect, balanced with a full bodied nutty and chocolaty undertone. Slightly fruit forward but not a fruit bomb. The red honey processing leaves a crazy complex cup with tones ranging from lemongrass to red fruit to nutty/chocolaty and smoky undertones. Super light roasts lean the cup to lemony/floral and will be loaded with more citric lighter tones, not very balanced but punchy and clean. Darker roasts lean it towards nutty/chocolaty with more stout like features & fruity highlights. In the middle, one gets layers of all the lovely flavors in the cup. Crisp and clean lemony floral balanced with sweet a