La Isla SL28 natural

Costa Rica - La Isla SL28 natural

Varietal –  Villa Sarchi
Preparation – Yellow Honey
Location – Naranjo, West Valley
Altitude – 1550 masl
Importer - Horsham Coffee Roaster

This is a fantastic natural processed coffee from La Isla farm in the West Valley, Costa Rica. They won 10th place at the 2020 Cup of Excellence competition with the submission of one of the micro lots.

We are super excited to be sourcing our Costa Rican coffees directly. We source our Costa Rican coffees in partnership with Selva Coffee, a small exporter representing a select group of coffee producers that we visited in February 2020 and December 2022.

These producers are located in the West Valley, Central Valley, and Tarrazu region of Costa Rica. You can read more about our direct trade coffees in our Transparency Report. The video below was filmed in February 2020.

Farm Overview

La Isla is owned by Luis Padilla, who bought the farm in 2017. He was inspired by his grandfather, who owned a coffee farm for many years in the Naranjo region. The farm covers 10.5 hectares and is located at 1500 masl growing a mix of Villa Sarchi, Geisha and SL-28. These are kept separate during the harvest. Luis is focusing on the regeneration of the farm, and in the video, you can clearly identify the section of the farm with healthy trees. They are working their way through the farm with a view to regenerating the entire 10.5 hectares. 

Harvesting and Processing:

This coffee has been harvested from SL28 trees. All harvesting is done by hand, keeping the different varietals separate from each other. After harvest, the coffee is dried on raised tables with regular turning to ensure even drying. 

Alexander, Amelia, James and Bradley with Luis Padilla

Tasting Notes:

This is lovely clean, bright, crisp and juicy honey processed coffee. It showcases wonderful sweetness with a crisp red apple acidity and subtle notes of berries that include raspberry, apple and caramel. There is a silky, creamy body with caramel-like sweetness.

Brewing:

This coffee works well for all brew methods. 

Filter: Dose 15g, water 250g. 

Espresso: Dose 17 gram to 40 gram yield over about 30 seconds. 

This coffee is available as whole bean and pre-ground, but we recommend always grinding fresh before brewing. We sell a range of grinders if you would like to grind this coffee fresh at home.