Milk Chocolate, Brown Sugar, Lemon

• Origin - Mexico
• Region - Huatusco
• Process - Honey Process
• Variety - Caturra
• Altitude - 1130 to 1250 meters

The Sampieri family has been growing coffee in the fertile soil of Huatusco since 1920. They purchased Finca La Laja in 1980 and, in 1999, established AC La Laja SA de CV (La Laja SA), a broader coffee company. Finca La Laja sits in La Laja, Tlatetela, in Huatusco, at 1,130 to 1,250 meters above sea level. The area is mountainous and fed by a network of small tributaries running into the La Antigua river.

Finca La Laja is cultivated under shade, primarily with Caturra and Garnica varieties, with planting densities ranging from 2,000 to 2,500 shrubs per hectare. They have sought new flavors and experimented with different processing methods, including the Honey process that produced this lot.

The soil is primarily Cambisol, characterized by rocky subsoil and susceptibility to erosion, as well as Luvisol, which features clay accumulation in the subsoil. The primary vegetation of the farm consists of montane cloud forests with pine and oak trees in the higher elevations and tropical deciduous forests in the lower areas. The local fauna includes populations of squirrels, armadillos, rabbits, ringtails, raccoons, ocelots, coatis, pacas, opossums, pocket gophers, foxes, and skunks. Bird species include orioles, hummingbirds, roadrunners, chachalacas, crested guans, parrots, doves, wild ducks, flycatchers, parakeets, warblers, antbirds, mourning doves, and grackles. There are also snakes, such as the nauyaca (fer-de-lance). Each harvest, efforts have been made to improve production by implementing traditional selective methods (planting, fertilization, and pruning), resulting in good productivity and quality.