Process: Red Honey
Variety: SL28
Region: Las Lajas
Altitude: 1500 masl
Notes: Blueberry jam, peach, sour cherry, black plum, fig and golden raisin
This lot, from the famed Oscar Chacón and his brothers, was grown in the fertile soils of the lush and organically farmed (not certified any longer) Las Lajas.
Once harvested, cherries are delivered to the family’s mill in Sabanilla de Alajuela where they are floated using Penagos machines, pulped, and then sun-dried with mucilage on raised beds. The longer the cherries are dried, the darker the honey layer becomes. Once they reach the desired colour, the beans are moved to shaded patios to finish drying. Here, Oscar creates a signature bed of beans that is flipped when a crust forms as opposed to raked into rows like many other producers do. He believes this produces a more consistently dried lot.