Honey processing — you may have heard of it before, but what does it mean? Before the coffee beans can be roasted, the layers of the coffee cherry must be removed and the pits (beans) need to dry out. Two of the most common methods of removing the cherry and processing the coffees are: washed processing (which means fermentation and fruit removal in water) and natural processing (which means letting the coffees dry in the sun before mechanically removing the fruit). Honey processing lives in the middle. The cherry skin is removed but some of the fruit (called “mucilage”) remains on the beans while they dry on raised beds.
There are several different types of honey processed coffee: white, yellow, red, and black. The colors simply refer to the appearance of the coffee beans while they dry. For a quick explanation, the white and yellow honeys have less mucilage left after being mechanically washed. Red and black honey coffees have much more mucilage remaining. The amount of mucilage left on the beans influences the fermentation and the ultimate flavor profile of the coffee.
Now that you all have an understanding of honey processed coffees, may we present to you our newest small batch — Scarlet Honey Costa Rica — a red honey process from the Las Lajas mill in Costa Rica’s central valley. In a mug of Scarlet Honey, you’ll experience a viscous, creamy body paired with the fruit juiciness of passion fruit and blueberries.
Dona Francisca Chacon and her husband come from coffee farming families who have been in the business for over three generations. In fact, the Las Lajas project was started all the way back in 1840 by her husband, Oscar Chacon’s family. However, they didn’t begin processing their own coffee until 2006. Francisca and Oscar decided to begin milling their own coffee in a risky effort to make their operations more profitable. You can taste their passion for and skill at farming and milling coffees.
We are thrilled to bring this coffee from Las Laja to our #coffeegeeks in and around Milwaukee. What’s so remarkable about this particular honey process is that although it is juicy and fruity, it is also incredibly clean. This coffee represents the quality that the crew at Las Lajas has become famous for within the specialty coffee industry. Known for being the first producers of natural processed coffees in Costa Rica, the Chacon’s natural and honey processed coffees receive high praise year after year. Once you taste a mug of our Scarlet Honey, we know you’ll understand why.
Hit the button below to grab a couple of pounds now!
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