FLAVOUR PROFILE
Brown Sugar, Grape, Honeydew, Macadamia
REGION
Bolaven Plateau, Laos
PARTNERSHIP
Since 2021
ELEVATION
1200m
PROCESS
Washed
VARIETY
Java
ROADS LESS TRAVELLED SERIES
LAOS - LA
Filter Roast
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A BIT ABOUT THIS COFFEE
La’s coffee has always stood out to us for its unique flavour profile, carrying the distinct signature sweetness of Lao coffee that keeps bringing us back to explore the region's hidden gems.
Her home, Nong Kali, is a peaceful village, a place of lush rolling hills dotted with small coffee plots nestled among natural forests. Red dirt roads, used as much by livestock as vehicles, connect traditional villages that produce some of the best arabica in Laos.
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WHY YOU'LL LOVE IT
The brown sugary sweetness and smooth texture of this coffee add lovely depth to the cup. As it cools, delightful top notes emerge, reminiscent of honeydew, grapes, and subtle citrus hints.
La's Java offers a nostalgic filter brew with unique flavors, making it the perfect choice for an everyday coffee.
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HOW TO BREW
V60
20g Dose
300g Yield
2.45 Brew time
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THE STORY
La specialises in fully washed and honey-processed coffees, sundried on raised beds in the scenic outskirts of Nong Kali. She cultivates small plots of Java, Catimor, and Typica varieties, surrounded by native forests, and processes each batch individually.
Coffee has been farmed here for more than 60 years, with the majority of farms in the area being small, family-managed coffee gardens which are most often shade grown and organic. It's a slow pace of life here and a scenically beautiful one at that.
We’ve been sourcing coffee from Nong Kali since 2020. As with all of our Lao coffees, we purchase dried parchment directly from individual families enabling them to focus on what they do best; farming and processing the best coffee they can. This way farmers don’t have to worry about dry-milling, sorting, bagging, transport or the complexities related to export. They also set their own price and can better account for their total costs. It’s substantially more involvement and effort for us, but it’s a model that we are proud to say is the most mutually beneficial here.
Coffee was first brought to the Bolaven plateau a little over a century ago by the French. They introduced Bourbon and Typica varieties (some of these heirlooms can still be found in a handful of villages). The departure of the French, and the subsequent Vietnam war, completely decimated the industry and it has slowly recovered over the past couple of decades.
Today the Plateau is home to a growing industry, including some smaller specialty focused operations, as the conditions for producing arabica here are perfect. A cooler stable climate with good rainfall, fertile volcanic soil and lots of natural forest cover are some of the conditions in favour of arabica production here. The coffee varieties that are mainly grown today are Catimor, Catuai, Caturra, Java, and Typica. Demand for Lao coffee is now at an all-time high.
