LUIS PADILLA, La Isla SL-28 Yellow Honey
Luis’ SL-28 lot featured in our ICON series last year and this season’s yellow honey version was so good we had to buy it again. SL-28, originally released and widely grown in Kenya, is a variety known for its excellent cup profile and complex acidity. This incredible coffee has delicate floral aromas, notes of juicy citrus, dried fruits and cacao nibs with a honey-like sweetness. Complex and beautifully balanced.
LUIS PADILLA, La Isla SL-28 Yellow Honey - 200g is backordered and will ship as soon as it is back in stock.
Story
Luis Jiménez Padilla is a third-generation coffee farmer, whose grandparents, Raúl and Angela, purchased their first farm in the 1930s and contributed to the development of the Naranjo growing area. As Raúl grew older he began to distribute his land amongst his thirteen children and Luis’ mother received the farm that she was born and raised in. Luis also has very fond memories of growing up on that same farm with his parents and grandparents and recalls all the hard work the whole family undertook, taking care of the plantation. Over the years the grandparents passed on, the parents focussed on other work, and Luis went to study agronomy at university. The farm was sold to one of the uncles and has been kept in the family until today.
Luis and his immediate family purchased some land in San Pablo de Leon Cortez, Tarrazu and decided to put Luis’ knowledge of agronomy to good use and plant an avocado farm there. Eventually, they sold the property and the farm they developed, and Luis was ready to do something on his own as he was graduating from his studies.
Wanting to help develop and sustain agricultural projects in the region, he started a business offering micro loans to rural farmers who typically have a difficult time accessing finance. Luis is particularly proud of what he was able to accomplish with this venture and the assistance he was able to provide to many farmers however he also began to feel a yearning to have coffee farm of his own once again.
Teaming up with his mother and father, they started looking for opportunities to purchase a farm around the area of Naranjo, where it all began, and the entire family still lives today. They purchased a farm in Lourdes de Cirri, Naranjo from a Hungarian expat named Lazlo who had already begun renovating the farm and planting some nice varieties like Villa Sarchi, SL-28, and Geisha. Although the farm was a bit bigger than the family were looking for initially, they chose to take on the project and established La Isla in 2017.
The 11 hectares of land are named after the mountain on which it is situated, which translates to “the island”, named due to this area’s location between two rivers. Due to the rich volcanic soils and excellent microclimate, the area is described as a “fertile heaven” for coffee production.
The farm is separated into small plots on which they cultivate individual varieties of coffee. Each plot carries its own unique qualities, and Luis has found that by separating, and sometimes combining, different coffees from different plots he’s able to create amazing results.
A central belief for the family at La Isla is that the environment is their greatest responsibility, and they’re committed to preserving and protecting it. The varieties which they grow have been specifically selected due to their suitability to the local soil and environmental conditions. This has allowed them to reduce their use of herbicides and other agrochemicals. The family has also taken measures to protect water sources and other plants on the farm, planting 1,250 native trees over the recent years to act as shade for coffee plants and provide living fences and windbreaks. This dedication has led to a natural increase in the amount of wildlife in the nearby area, including toucans, butterflies, bees, and mammals.
Since the 1980s Luis’ mother María Marta has pioneered the microfinance model in Central America and now shares this mission with her son. Their shared time working with coffee inspired them to invest in their own project and develop their micro-mill allowing them more control over processing. Their ecological mill consists of three integrated machines: a DCV3000 Penagos pulper, a sorter, and a Delva ascending de-mucilager; this combination of equipment is designed to use the least amount of water and power possible. All coffee is dried on either drying patios or raised beds, avoiding mechanical dryers because of their impact on the environment.
Cultivar
SL-28 is among the most well-known and well-regarded varieties of Africa. SL-28 was originally selected in the 1930s by Scott Laboratories, from a Tanganyika drought resistance population. This initial tree was growing in Tanganyika (now Tanzania), where it was identified because of its drought and disease resistance. From this initial tree, SL2-8 was selected by pedigree selection, a method in which the breeder keeps records of the ancestry of the cultivar. Selected parent plants are crossed, and the progeny actively segregated, selecting seeds from the offspring with the desired characteristics and growing through several generations until stable.
Initially widely grown in Kenya it has subsequently spread to other parts of Africa and now to Latin America. Recent genetic testing has confirmed that SL-28 is related to the Bourbon genetic group and it is highly prized for its excellent cup quality when grown at high altitudes. SL-28 is tolerant to drought but is susceptible to major diseases. It’s also notable for its resilience to a lack of plantation management and even old, unattended trees of 60 years can be still very productive.
Processing
La Isla uses a Penagos DCV-4000 pulper which has one of the most efficient capacity/power ratios in the market. This pulper separates and works only with ripe cherries without pulping green or dry ones. They also use a Delva vertical ascending demucilager machine to wash the coffees, and prepare the different honey processes; yellow, red or black. The main advantages of using the Delva are the low water consumption, high processing capacity and minor power consumption.
This specific SL-28 lot is a yellow honey process which has been dried with less than 25% of the sticky fruit mucilage left on the parchment. They dry the coffee on patios for the first 2 or 3 days after processing, then they move the coffee to be dried on raised beds for approximately 10 more days, the amount of the drying time varying dependant on the weather.
PRODUCER | Luis Jiménez Padilla |
FARM | La Isla, Lourdes de Cirri, Naranjo, West Valley, Costa Rica |
ELEVATION | 1,500 masl |
CULTIVAR | SL-28 |
PREPARATION | Yellow Honey |
HARVEST | December - March 2023 |
ARRIVED | September 2023 |
IMPORTING PARTNER | Sucafina / Selva |