TASTING A big raspberry punch! A present acidity accompanied by a floral side, jasmine on the aftertaste. We can detect the taste of the coffee cherry, the cascara, like a dried and sweetened cranberry. ORIGIN These beans come from the Las Lajas station operated by Oscar and Francisca Chacón, third generation coffee producers. The couple is committed to quality and innovation and is one of the very first farmers in Costa Rica to produce specialty coffee with a honey and natural process. In 2005, after years of delivering their cherries to a cooperative at market prices, they decided to participate in the new "micro-mill revolution" and buy their own pulping machine to have more control over the quality and price they received for their lots. "At first we didn't know what we were doing," Oscar explains. "We were just experimenting." This experimentation resulted in some very exciting new taste profiles. Today, Chacon produces a wide range of coffees using the Honey process, modulating the drying time to create different effects in the cup. Problems sparked the innovation when an earthquake in 2008 cut off electricity and water in their region during harvest. Unable to run the pulpers or wash the mucilage to produce washed batches, Francisca drew on her knowledge of African coffee production and quickly built raised beds on the property. RED HONEY PROCESS The honey process is a hybrid that combines elements of natural (dry) or washed techniques to create new tastes. The skin of the cherry is removed, but some flesh is left. The mucilage remains while the kernels are dried. The coffee is turned several times a day and dried longer in the greenhouse. During the honey process, when the coffee is drying, the sticky layer on the outside of the beans oxidizes and takes on a darker color. ROASTING For these beans, we want to focus on the raspberry note. Slightly increasing the rate of development allows us to remove some acidity. We prefer a short cooking time to avoid smoke notes.