There's something about the Costa Rican sun mixed with a gentle, cool breeze that blows all of your worries away. Several of our DLM Coffee Bar leaders experienced this first-hand together with local roaster Boston Stoker on a trip this past year to learn more about one of our favorite Costa Rican coffees, La Pastora Yellow Honey Coffee. There's something special about the fragrances of the tropical trees and plants melded with the aroma of freshly brewed coffee that gives a feeling that all is well with the world. 

This light roast coffee is roasted locally for us by Boston Stoker here in Dayton, Ohio, but it's a product of Finca La Pastora in the Tarrazú region of Costa Rica. This family-owned estate has been operating for more than 60 years and prides themselves on pushing the boundaries of creativity and innovation in all that they do. Even now, estate owner Don Esquivel Minor is imparting his knowledge and passion for coffee to his daughter so that she can carry on the estate’s extraordinary legacy.

Specifically, La Pastora Yellow Honey Coffee is named for its unique yellow honey processing that involves leaving between 25-50% of the coffee cherry pulp’s innermost layer on the bean and allowing it to ferment. The key element that makes this process so effective and tasty is the all-important task of rotating the coffee beans in regular intervals during the fermentation process to make absolutely sure every bean enjoys the benefits of the warm Costa Rican sun. This unlocks that transportive raw sugar finish of La Pastora, as well as its notes of citrus, melon, mango, and berry that might not otherwise come through with a more conventional process. 

Such a natural sweetness lends itself to any coffee preparation you can imagine. Whether you prefer your coffee black, with cream and sugar, as an iced coffee, or anything in-between, this coffee is for you. And for the month of April, we are featuring our La Pastora Yellow Honey Coffee as a cold brew with sweet honey almond milk cold foam—yum! But, no matter how you like your coffee, you just can’t go wrong with this one. 

The experience of traveling to this family-run farm in Costa Rica with our local roaster is one that connects us all together in a deeper way. Between the unique processing that sets it apart, the legacy of Finca La Pastora, and the expert roasting by Boston Stoker that truly brings it all together, this is one coffee experience you won’t want to miss. Grab a bag of La Pastora Yellow Honey Coffee and take a tropical excursion with your morning cup!