Mexico Veracruz Finca La Laja Water Decaf
This is the Mountain Water Processed Decaf version of our offering from Finca La Laja. Much like its conventional twin, it's gently bright with a full body, creamy texture and a buttery yet clean finish. In our cups, we noted brown sugar, raisin, milk chocolate and mild lemon.
It’s extremely rare for us to get both conventional and decaf from the exact same farm, so this offering from Finca La Laja is a real treat! A near mirror image of the conventional offering, this coffee has the same “foggy fall morning” vibes but without all the caffeine. So maybe more of a “sitting around the fall campfire at night” vibe. You get the idea! The cup is rich and creamy with a mild citrus note on the front end giving it some gentle brightness. It’s slightly sweet with excellent balance. In our cups, we noted brown sugar, milk chocolate, raisin, lemon and just a hint of spice. Excellent for a daily driver decaf!
Reminder! This coffee is raw, you must roast it before brewing
Arrival Date: August 23, 2024; Harvest year: 2024, Packed in Ecotact
Acidity & Brightness: Gentle brightness and fairly sweet
Balance & Finish: Fairly balanced with a buttery yet clean finish
Body & Texture: Full body and creamy texture
Flavors: Brown sugar, raisin, milk chocolate and mild lemon
Grade: HG-EP, grown at 1130 to 1250 masl
Processing: Fully washed & Mountain Water Processed Decaf
Grower: Finca La Laja
Region: Tlaltetela, Veracruz, Mexico
Varietals: Caturra & Garnica
Recommended Roast Range: City+ to Full City+ (light-medium to medium-dark)
We like this coffee best at Full City (Medium), or after 1st crack has trailed off but before 2nd crack begins. Lighter roasts (during the later part of 1st crack) will exhibit more pronounced florals and citrus. Taking the roast darker (the first snaps of 2nd crack) will give you a bit more body with a focus on toffee and brown sugar at the expense of brightness. Note this coffee, like most coffee from Mexico, is grown just a little lower than coffee from Central and South America. This makes the beans a little more heat sensitive, so if you find your roast taking off or going too dark, back off on the heat just a hair about midway through the roast. A small adjustment is usually all you’ll need if any at all. Don’t back off the heat too much or you’ll stall!
Café La Laja - “Finca La Laja is located in the La Laja community, municipality of Tlaltetela, Veracruz, Mexico, with an altitude of 1130 to 1250 meters above sea level. Found in the Central Mountainous area of the state of Veracruz, it’s irrigated by a network of small tributary rivers of the La Antigua River. The local vegetation stands out for having cloud forests of pine and oak mountains towards the upper parts and with the tropical deciduous forest towards the lower parts.
Finca La Laja is shade-grown with predominant varieties of caturra and garnica with plantations of 2000 to 2500 shrubs per hectare. Since 1980, when the "La Laja" property was acquired, a better production has been sought each harvest by implementing the traditional selective method (sowing, fertilization and pruning) and thus obtaining a cup of the highest quality as well as experimenting with different processes such as drying in its own honey, drying with its fruit, washing and semi-washing.
