Costa Rica - Alma Negra

The Las Lajas Micromill in the Central Valley is run by Oscar and Francisca Chacón – third-generation coffee farmers and pioneers of honey and natural processing in Costa Rica. In 2005, they founded their own micromill to take the quality of their coffees into their own hands. When an earthquake cut off water and power during the 2008 harvest, necessity led them to develop new processing methods. Among them was what is now known as the Alma Negra process, which still stands for exceptional, expressive coffees today.

In the Alma Negra process, only fully ripe coffee cherries are selected. After a short drying phase in the greenhouse, the cherries are dried in the sun on raised beds during the day and brought back into the greenhouse at night, where they rest in piles. This controlled alternation between sun and rest makes the drying especially slow and even, developing intense sweetness, complex fruit aromas and exceptional clarity in the cup.

In the cup, this coffee delights with notes of dried plum, delicate vanilla and dark chocolate. A wine-like acidity and a fruity sweetness give it complexity, elegance and a long-lasting finish.