TOLIMA, Colombia
Lime Sorbet • Ripe Guava • Brown Sugar
Processing: Washed
This coffee was grown and processed by eight smallholder producers that are situated around the village of China Alta, a small community located in the municipality of Ibagué, in the state of Tolima, Colombia.
The coffees in this lot were selectively hand-harvested, with most labour being provided by the farmers and their families. They were processed using the washed method at each farm’s ‘micro-beneficio’ (mill).
The coffee was pulped using a small manual or electric pulper and then placed into a fermentation tank, where it was fermented for around 48 hours (depending on the weather and the farm’s location) and then washed using clean water from nearby rivers and streams.
It was then carefully dried (over 10–18 days) on parabolic beds, which are constructed a bit like a ‘hoop house’ greenhouse, and act to protect the coffee from the rain and prevent condensation dripping back onto the drying beans. The greenhouse is constructed out of plastic sheets and have adjustable walls to help with airflow, and temperature control to ensure the coffee can dry slowly and evenly.
ELEVATION 1,800-2,000m above sea level
VARIETY Caturra, Colombia, Castillo
AVERAGE FARM SIZE 3 hectares
CONTRIBUTING PRODUCERS Aldemar Quimbayo, Alfredo Conde, Benedicto Puentes, Brayan Marin, Claudia Olaya, Geraldine Buitrago, German Sanchez , Hilmer Conde
Green beans ethically sourced by MCM Melbourne Coffee Merchants
Text by MCM Melbourne Coffee Merchants
