COSTA RICA: LAS LAJAS

@import url('https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Barlow+Condensed:wght@600&display=swap');

.sjcb-wrap { max-width: 680px; margin: 0 auto; padding: 2rem 1rem; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; background: transparent; color: #ffffff; } .sjcb-section { margin-bottom: 2.5rem; } .sjcb-label { font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: 0.12em; text-transform: uppercase; color: #aaaaaa; margin: 0 0 0.75rem; } .sjcb-body { font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.75; color: #b0b0b0; margin: 0; } .sjcb-lead { font-family: 'Barlow Condensed', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: 600; font-size: 17px; color: #ffffff; letter-spacing: 0.01em; } .sjcb-taste-grid { display: grid; grid-template-columns: 1fr 1fr; gap: 12px; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; } .sjcb-taste-item { background: #B83A5C; border-radius: 100px; height: 56px; display: flex; align-items: center; justify-content: center; text-align: center; padding: 0 0.75rem; } .sjcb-taste-val { font-family: 'Barlow Condensed', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: 600; font-size: 18px; color: #fff; letter-spacing: 0.02em; margin: 0; line-height: 1.2; } .sjcb-hero-heading { font-family: 'Barlow Condensed', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: 600; font-size: 28px; letter-spacing: 0.04em; text-transform: uppercase; color: #ffffff; margin: 0 0 0.5rem; line-height: 1.15; } .sjcb-hero-body { font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.75; color: #b0b0b0; margin: 0 0 1.5rem; } .sjcb-meta { display: grid; grid-template-columns: 1fr 1fr; gap: 12px; } .sjcb-meta-item { background: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.06); backdrop-filter: blur(16px); -webkit-backdrop-filter: blur(16px); border: 1px solid rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.1); border-radius: 20px; padding: 0.75rem 1rem; box-shadow: 0 4px 24px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.4), inset 0 1px 0 rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.1); } .sjcb-meta-key { font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; letter-spacing: 0.1em; text-transform: uppercase; color: #777; margin: 0 0 2px; } .sjcb-meta-val { font-family: 'Barlow Condensed', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: 600; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.02em; color: #ffffff; margin: 0; }

Tastes like

Strawberry Pie

Graham Cracker

Dark Chocolate

Plum

Strawberry pie, graham cracker, dark chocolate, and plum. Las Lajas developed this process. The cup shows why.

Rich and layered, with strawberry pie sweetness up front, warm graham cracker depth through the middle, and dark chocolate and plum pulling the finish into something complex and satisfying. Black honey at its most expressive.

Farm

Las Lajas

Producers

Oscar & Francisca Chacón

Region

Central Valley

Country

Costa Rica

Variety

San Isidro

Process

Black Honey

The coffee

Las Lajas was among the very first farms in Costa Rica to produce Honey and Natural process specialty coffee, and Oscar and Francisca Chacón built that from nothing. Third-generation coffee producers, they had spent years delivering cherry to a cooperative for the going market price. In 2005, they joined the brand-new micromill revolution and bought their own depulper to take control of quality and what they were paid for it. The experimentation that followed produced some of the most exciting flavour profiles the region has ever seen. San Isidro is the variety they grow here, developed in Grecia, Costa Rica at around 1600 to 1700 metres. Hardy, high-yielding, and capable of exceptional cup quality, it is well-suited to the Chacóns' approach.

Origin

The Central Valley is the heart of Costa Rica's coffee industry and the place where its most progressive processing has taken root. High elevation, volcanic soil, and well-defined wet and dry seasons create conditions that reward both careful farming and experimentation. Costa Rica has a longer coffee history than any other Central Ameri

Produced by Oscar and Francisca Chacón in the Central Valley region of Costa Rica, this lot from Sam James Coffee Bar showcases the unique potential of the San Isidro varietal. Grown at an elevation of 1600-1700 masl, the coffee undergoes a black honey process, a technique that leaves a significant portion of the mucilage on the bean during drying. Generally, processing methods like black honey are utilized to enhance sweetness and body, often resulting in a more syrupy mouthfeel compared to washed counterparts.

The resulting cup profile features distinct notes of strawberry pie, graham cracker, dark chocolate, and plum. When evaluating such complex profiles, enthusiasts often refer to a flavor wheel to better categorize the interplay between the fruit-forward acidity and the deeper, cocoa-toned base notes. This specific offering highlights the meticulous post-harvest practices employed by the Chacón family to achieve such a balanced and expressive cup.