Oscar and Francisca Chacón of Las Lajas Micromill are third-generation producers and pioneers of Costa Rica's specialty scene, among the first in the country to produce Honey and Natural process coffees. After years of selling cherry to a cooperative, they joined the "micromill revolution" in 2005, buying their own depulper to take control of quality and price. When a 2008 earthquake cut power and water mid-harvest, Francisca drew on African production methods and built raised beds, and the Natural lots that followed put Las Lajas on the specialty map. This lot comes from Finca La Julia in Costa Rica's Central Valley, grown at 1,400 to 1,600 metres from the San Isidro variety, a hardy, rust-tolerant Sarchimor hybrid capable of exceptional cup quality. It is processed using Alma Negra, a Natural method developed by the Chacóns: cherries dry inside a greenhouse for two to three days with constant movement, then alternate between raised beds in the sun by day and mounded piles in the greenhouse by night, slowing the cure. The cup shows cooked grape and mellow caramel, winey acidity and candy-like sweetness.

Oscar and Francisca Chacón of Las Lajas Micromill are third-generation producers and pioneers of Costa Rica's specialty scene, among the first in the country to produce Honey and Natural process coffees. After years of selling cherry to a cooperative, they joined the "micromill revolution" in 2005, buying their own depulper to take control of quality and price. When a 2008 earthquake cut power and water mid-harvest, Francisca drew on African production methods and built raised beds, and the Natural lots that followed put Las Lajas on the specialty map. This lot comes from Finca La Julia in Costa Rica's Central Valley, grown at 1,400 to 1,600 metres from the San Isidro variety, a hardy, rust-tolerant Sarchimor hybrid capable of exceptional cup quality. It is processed using Alma Negra, a Natural method developed by the Chacóns: cherries dry inside a greenhouse for two to three days with constant movement, then alternate between raised beds in the sun by day and mounded piles in the greenhouse by night, slowing the cure. The cup shows cooked grape and mellow caramel, winey acidity and candy-like sweetness.