Finca La Loma / Colombia – Reserve Series

Right from its planting, this coffee was destined for excellence. Rodrigo Sánchez is a veteran coffee producer who takes a unique and meticulous approach to growing and harvesting coffee. His highly trained pickers only pick cherries that are above 90% ripeness—a process that is double-checked with a Brix meter which measures the sugar content of the cherries. This alone is intense and difficult work. Each of the hundreds of cherries on an individual tree needs to be inspected for peak ripeness and then the heavy bags of perfectly ripe cherries need to be carried through the rows of coffee trees planted on steep hills back to the mill for processing. This is the beginning of what sets this coffee apart from the rest.

The processing, and specifically fermentation, is the real star of the show with this coffee. Once the coffee arrives at the mill, the seeds are left to ferment inside the cherry for 70 hours in a sealed environment that is pumped with carbon dioxide which displaces the oxygen and creates a favorable environment for new yeasts and microbes—a process called carbonic maceration which is most commonly used in winemaking. After this initial fermentation, the coffee is pulped and returned to barrels along with added sugars and microorganisms to ferment for another 70-94 hours for a total of 140-188 hours spent fermenting.

Coffee Profile

Coffee Bio

The carbonic maceration process adds a remarkable depth of sweetness and a creamy body. At the same time, the extended fermentation creates huge fruit notes reminiscent of an orange creamsicle and lychee. It is sure to be one of the most unique coffees you’ll have this year.