Producer: Oscar and Francisca Chacón
Farm: Las Lajas
Region: Central Valley
Variety: Casiopea
Process: Natural Anaerobic
Altitude: 1500 masl
Harvested: 2025
Cupping notes: Blueberry, dark chocolate, bergamot, panela.
Casiopea comes from Las Lajas in Costa Rica’s Central Valley, a region shaped by volcanic soils and Atlantic weather patterns that create ideal conditions for high-elevation coffee.
Their six farms, located between 1,450 - 1,500 masl on the slopes of the Poás volcano, are managed with a strong commitment to organic farming principles. Although they no longer hold formal organic certification, their approach remains chemical-free, with mill pulp composted back into the fields and water use kept exceptionally low.
Innovation is at the core of Las Lajas. The family continuously experiments with varieties and processing techniques, refining their methods year after year. Coffees are carefully floated after harvest and dried with precision, especially in their honey processes where movement, crust control, and drying time are meticulously managed to achieve clarity and consistency.
Casiopea is a relatively recent specialty coffee variety developed as part of Central American breeding programs focused on combining cup quality with stronger agronomic performance. It is an F1 hybrid created from a cross between Caturra and an Ethiopian wild accession known as ET41, held in the CATIE collection. The idea behind Casiopea was to retain the sweetness and familiarity of traditional Central American varieties while introducing the aromatic complexity and genetic diversity associated with Ethiopian lines.
Because it is an F1 hybrid, Casiopea tends to show good vigor in the field, solid yields, and improved disease resistance compared to older pure-line varieties. At the same time, it has gained attention in specialty circles for its cup potential. When grown at higher elevations and harvested at full ripeness, it can deliver expressive fruit character, structured acidity and layered sweetness, making it attractive for microlots and experimental processing.
