High in the Central Valley of Costa Rica, the Sabanilla de Alajuela hills hold some of the country's most closely watched micromills, and Las Lajas is one of the sharpest. At Finca La Julia, sitting between 1,400 and 1,600 meters above sea level, the San Isidro variety ripens slowly under cool mountain air, building the kind of density that makes for a memorable cup. Here, cherries are laid down for a Black Honey process, left to rest with their mucilage intact under careful shade and patient turning, coaxing out layers of flavor a washed process could never reach. The result opens with cocoa and rounds into cooked strawberry and fresh berry, sweetness curling around a bright, almost electric acidity. It's a coffee for the curious drinker, proof that process can transform a variety into something wholly its own.
