We love finding distinctive and well-processed natural coffees from different countries, and this coffee is no exception.
We are lucky to get this unique micro-lot from Finca La Cumbre, located an hour drive from Garzón (Huila) at about 1800m asl. La Cumbre spans a total surface area of eleven hectares, nine of which are currently planted with coffee. The remaining two hectares are protected forest reserves.
The farm is owned by Ana Cecilia, with her son Danilo by her side who looks after the farm. They focus on producing high-quality, naturally-processed specialty coffee.
Due to the hot and dry climate of this part of Huila, temperatures occasionally reach uncomfortable heights, affecting the careful progression of a natural coffee, so when this happens, the drying phase is carefully monitored. The coffee is covered and stored overnight and left to dry in the afternoon to induce a uniform and gradual humidity loss.
In the cup, this is most definitely a vibrant coffee. We found it intensely fruity (especially pineapple) and fermented, with hoppy notes, cocoa nibs, and lactic acidity. It really resembles an anaerobic lot.
Pickers are thoroughly trained in the best harvesting techniques, which means they are careful to only harvest cherries that are at their point of maximum maturity, which will help ensure a higher yield for the next harvest and healthy trees in general. The micro-lot we purchased is composed of Caturra varietal only.
The harvest is brought to the Garzón plant to be dry processed. The first round of quality control is the first step to the beneficio. A group of women will manually comb through the cherries, removing any unripe or damaged fruit.
Fermentation is happening inside the cherry as the coffee is sorted and dried. Since Uribe Pérez coffees are natural, the cherries are immediately put to dry on specially constructed covered courtyards. This batch was dried for over ten days. They are careful to monitor their coffees' drying, initially drying the cherry indoors and then later when drying outdoors, storing the drying cherry under cover at night. When the drying phase is complete, the coffee goes into a dark and fresh storage cycle for three or four days, after which the coffee is ready to be packaged in the Grainpro bags.
Minimum resting period: 10 days from the roast date for espresso roast, 5 days for filter roast.
