Coffee

THE COFFEE

The most refreshing and special coffee we have ever had in our roastery. A real summer drink with flavors of mint, blackcurrants, almonds and a hint of chocolate. It's one of those taste experiences that leaves you thinking, "May I have another cup, please?" for hours after drinking it.

We discovered this coffee thanks to Valentina Duque, the owner of Siruma Coffee. Valentina sent us the sample and added in a WhatsApp message, that we have to decide quickly, because the farmer Nestor is about to become famous and the coffee will be selling out very fast. After tasting the sample, we didn't have to think twice and bought two bags of 70 kg each.

To reach such complex flavors the cherries/beans are processed in various post-harvest steps:

• Floating process in order to select the best cherries only (fully ripe).
• 16 hours oxidation in cherry between 22 and 30 degrees Celsius.
• Anaerobic fermentation in plastic cans for 38 hours at 16-18° Celsius.
• The coffee is moved to open fermentation tanks for 6 hours where the leachates are collected so they can be used further on.
• The coffee is pulped.
• Oxidation process in mucilage for 6 hours.
• Water and the leachates collected in step 4 are added to the coffee to begin a 24-hour submerged fermentation at 32 degrees Celsius. The mix is occasionally stirred so the mix is homogenous.
• Thermal shock: the coffee is washed with water at 65-70°C to finalize the fermentation phase.
• The coffee is moved to parabolic drying systems for 18-24 days until 11% moisture is reached, where the maximum temperature is 30°C.

THE PRODUCER

This coffee comes from 24-year-old producer Nestor Lasso and the farm El Diviso. The farm covers an area of 18 hectares, consisting of 15 hectares of coffee and 3 hectares of forest.

Producer Nestor says: "We are the third generation to grow coffee. Our grandfather, José Uribe, was the founder of El Diviso farm. Through the work of the whole family and constant saving, we were able to build the infrastructure to process differential coffees, in search of better quality, both in coffee and in our lives. After a period of trial and error, we have managed to standardize different processes and generate a better income to grow new varieties that allow us to produce better quality. One of our dreams is to produce specialty coffee that reaches the whole world." 

Unfortunately, we haven't had the chance to visit Nestor and his farm yet, but it is on our bucket list for our next trip to Colombia.