Colombia Lote 3 - Yeast Inoculated Red & Orange Caturra
COLOMBIA
LOTE 3 - YEAST INOCULATED RED + ORANGE CATURRA
CHERRY ICEE, BLACKBERRY + VANILLA CAKE FROSTING + SUGAR CUBE
The evolution of our Colombia program continues. It's imperative we offer these in a style that's true to the Color sourcing model. We want to showcase pure coffee flavors that come from careful processing and accentuate the coffee's inherent attributes. What these yeast-inoculated coffees are doing is taking the natural sweet sugars found in these Caturra cherries and ensuring a full fermentation process and conversion of those sweet compounds into flavors true to the terroir.
We're presented here with a powerfully sweet and fruited experience, similar to a choice washed coffee. Lovely depth and persistence in the finish. We're tasting big complexity with flavors of cherry ICEE, blackberry, vanilla frosting, and some citric zip.
BEAN DETAILS:
ORIGIN: santa maria, huila, colombia
PRODUCER: Miller Sarmiento
VARIETY: Red and Orange Caturra
ELEVATION: 2100 masl
PROCESS: Yeast Inoculated Assisted Fermentaion then Fully washed
TASTING NOTES: cherry ICEE, blackberry, vanilla frosting, sugar cube and some citric zip
ROAST TYPE: Light
Farm Level
Finca Lote 3 is located in Santa Maria, Huila, Colombia, and is run by Miller Sarmiento. His farm sits at an elevation of approximately 1,952 m.a.s.l. and consists of 8 hectares of land. Of those 8 hectares, 4 are planted in coffee, with about 14,000 trees. Within these trees, Miller grows a mix of Red Caturra, Orange Caturra, Typica, and Castillo; this lot is a mix of Red and Orange Caturra.
This lot starts by hand-picking and fermenting the coffee for 24 hours in cherry, then de-pulping and fermenting for an additional 36 hours with the addition of a custom yeast culture to assist the process. Upon washing, the coffee is laid out to dry for between 10-14 days, depending on the climate. This is our second year working with Miller, whom we met through our Santa Maria buying station and the work we do together with Association La Victoria.
Miller has received workshops in developing his own fertilizers and has planted native trees along with his coffee plants. There is a 1+ hectare natural forest reserve, which he takes special care of because it provides fresh water for six families including his own. Interestingly, Miller comes from a family of 18 siblings, and although his father was a coffee farmer, only two siblings remain in coffee growing. He is the only one producing specialty coffee and experimenting with fermentations with technical assistance from the Coffee Quest team.
Miller and his wife Johany inherited the farm from her father 18 years ago and have been living there since, building their own house mostly from coffee production earnings. Their youngest child, Michelle, 15 years old, wants to become an environmental engineer and help her father preserve the farm ecosystem and their coffee production. The family has seen the importance of taking care of their environment and is slowly transitioning to organic. They are one of the Producers del Futuro who will benefit from the Organic Project The Coffee Quest is developing in alliance with the government's agency "National Natural Parks of Colombia."
General Brewing Instructions
- Filtered water. Spring water is ideal. Removing chloride, sulfur, and iron is essential.
- A burr grinder. The more even the coffee particles, the better the coffee. Burr grinders, whether manual or electric, will do a better job than "whirly-blade" grinders. Invest in a burr grinder. Your taste buds (and coffee roaster) will thank you.
- A scale. I know using a scale can seem a bit like you're doing something you shouldn't be. Trust me, you can only brew consistently great coffee with a scale. Water and coffee are hard to measure without one.
- Clean equipment. Properly cleaning your equipment is the only way to avoid stale and rancid coffee flavors entering your cup. Please keep your equipment clean. The sooner and more often you clean your gear, the easier it will be in the long run. Add it to your ritual and thank us later.
- Delicious and freshly roasted Color Coffee
- Hario V60 02. Check out Scott Rao's video on how to brew a better pourover than your local cafe does.
- French Press. Check out James Hoffman's video on how to brew a next level cup.
- Aeropress. Check out Tim Wendelboe's video on how to brew an exceptionally easy and delicious cup.
Coffee Faq
IS YOUR COFFEE ORGANIC OR FAIR TRADE?
In many cases, yes. However, our first priority is quality and flavor. Sometimes these priorities align and our producers are certified organic and/or fair trade. We always pay well above fair trade rates (which are quite low and don’t guarantee sustainability or quality).
Often times, the producers we work with are too small to gain certifications. It’s expensive and laborious. Many of our producers are certified organic and fair trade, including many of our producers in Peru, Ethiopia, and Mexico.
WHAT IS THE BEST TIME-FRAME TO DRINK MY COFFEE?
We recommend drinking our coffee within one month of the roast date. Most of our coffees taste best however within 2 - 14 days of roast date.
For espresso, we recommend using coffee that has rested at least 7 days after roast date. This is because coffee gives off CO2 after roasting that can interfere with extraction. One way to get around this is to let your ground espresso dose sit for 30-120 minutes before pulling the shot. Email info@colorroasters.com for more questions about this.
If you are pre-grinding the coffee, we recommend drinking the coffee within one week of grinding.
CAN YOU GRIND MY COFFEE ON WEB ORDERS?
Yes, we can. Please select how you want your coffee to be ground at the time you place your order. Simply click on the arrow beside "Grind" and make your selection. If you need help choosing let us know the brewing method you will be using to prepare the coffee, in the notes of the order. And we will be happy to grind the coffee for you on our commercial grinder.
DO YOU HAVE BREW RECIPES?
These are in the works! We are compiling a bunch and even shooting some video, to help you brew like us at home.
In the meantime...go here: Pour Overs | Aeropress to get some expert advice.
MY COFFEE TASTES WEAK, WHAT'S THE PROBLEM?