Costa Rica Perla Negra

Oscar and Francisca Chacón are third-generation Costa Rican coffee producers driven by a deep passion for quality and innovation. In 2005, they joined Costa Rica’s micromill movement to take control of their coffee processing, leading to groundbreaking Honey and Natural process coffees with wildly expressive flavor profiles.

After a 2008 earthquake cut power and water during harvest, Francisca improvised raised drying beds inspired by African coffee production methods. That challenge sparked another breakthrough for the Chacón family, and their Naturals quickly gained international attention.

This is a Perla Negra Natural process where ripe coffee cherries are slowly dried with the bean still inside. They start on raised beds in the sun, rest in the shade after about a week, then finish drying in a greenhouse. The cherries are turned twice a day, making for a very slow process that builds sweetness and complexity.