Colombia - El Eden - Washed Sangria Co-Ferment
Origin: Colombia
Region: Huila
Farm/Farmer: Rodrigo Sanchez
Farm Size & Elevation: El Eden, 1650 MASL
Processing Facility: Aromas Del Sur Dry Mill
Varietal: Purple Caturra Bourbon
Processing Method: Washed Sangria Co-Fermentation
Tasting Notes: Amaretto, Pixie Sticks, Cherry, Cinnamon
Rodrigo Sanchez is a fourth generation farmer overseeing multiple farms in Huila, Colombia, working to keep coffee growing traditions alive while innovating new processing methods. Aromas Del Sur is the company he created to encompass all of his farms (including El Eden and Monteblanco) and, in 2019, Rodrigo and his wife Claudia Samboni, built the Aroma Del Sur Dry Mill with the aim to process coffee for clients focused on high quality specialty beans using top level processing and traceability, with zero defects. They use a wide range of processing methods at the Dry Mill including Washed, Honey, Natural, as well as the newer innovative fermentation processing methods.
Anaerobic Process is the use of controlled fermentation to manipulate the sugars and acids present in coffee cherries changing the flavor profile of the bean. All coffee goes through some form of fermentation (in the cherry after picking) but using a yeast mother mix, lactobacillus cultures, or other fruits (co-fermenting), producers can create a wide variety of flavor compounds. This processing method is constantly evolving as farmers experiment with new techniques (original "fermentation" technique is the Natural Process) but usually the Anaerobic Processing starts with sealing the coffee cherry (still in its skin) inside large plastic barrels or Grain-Pro coffee bags full of liquid (or sometimes gasses), each container has a one way valve so it can purge the oxygen as the coffee cherries release their own gas (CO2). The coffee is left in the oxygen free environment for anywhere from a few hours up to a week. Once the fermentation is complete the cherries can be either de-pulped, washed, and dried (Washed Anaerobic), or it can be left to dry in the cherry before being sent through a dry mill (Natural Anaerobic).
This coffee uses sangria as the media to soak the cherries in through the fermentation process. Having a low alcohol level in the mix leads to a very unique flavor profile. The booziness that you might expect has been tempered because once the fermentation process was complete the coffee was rinsed clean and then sent through a wet mill to remove the outer cherry preventing the seed from absorbing all of the those funky aromatics. It carries some of the Amaretto liqueur and spice, but with an undeniable sweetness to provide balance. This coffee is from the same producer that brought us the Monteblanco, Blueberry Washed Co-Fermentation, last year. Each year we love cupping with him at SCA and each year we find a new coffee that we are super excited to share with you. Our other new release is La Loma, Red Fruits Co-Fermentation also from Aroma Del Sur, try both today.