Rodrigo Sanchez Valencia is a third-generation coffee farmer at Finca Monteblanco. His grandfather began cultivating coffee here several decades ago and today, Rodrigo works to preserve the natural diversity and productivity of the farm. For this process, Rodrigo selected Purple Caturra for its versatility and higher Brix concentration, which enhances its natural sweetness. Purple Caturra is a Caturra variety with different leaves and cherry colour than Red Caturra and has higher Brix content than typical Red Caturra.  

Rodrigo’s passion for research made this lot possible. In this Pineapple co-fermented lot, coffee undergoes an extended fermentation process with addition of pineapple. Rodrigo works carefully to create the perfect balance, essential to highlight the fruit notes, without overpowering the coffee's natural flavour.

The farm

Finca Monteblanco is located near Cueva de los Guacharos, one of the 59 protected parks in Colombia. The Suaza river also runs nearby and provides fresh water for cultivation and processing.  

Rodrigo cultivates Caturra, Geisha, Pink Bourbon and Pacamara varieties on Finca Monteblanco. The high altitude and superb microclimate of Acevedo, Huila creates the ideal conditions for cultivating specialty coffees.    

The Process

Cherry is selectively handpicked and processed on the farm. Once picked, cherry is floated and visually sorted to remove any underripes or damaged cherry. Then, cherry is pulped and coffee is added to the fermented fruit mixture.

Before processing cherry, Rodrigo combines a mixture of microorganisms, lactobacillus, saccharomyses and cerevisiae bacteria for a total of 10 different yeasts to cherry to promote fermentation. Rodrigo also added pineapple to this mixture to add additional flavour. Finally, he adds a sugar-rich mix to feed fermentation such as molasses, panela or granulated sugar. The mixture is sealed in a 200 litre tank and fermented for 8 days. 

Following fermentation, parchment is washed in clean water and laid in parabolic beds to dry. Parchment is raked frequently to ensure even drying. It takes approximately 20 to 25 days for parchment to dry. 

The region

Colombia has been producing and exporting coffee renowned for their full body, bright acidity and rich aftertaste, since the early 19th century.

Colombia boasts a wide range of climates and geographic conditions that, in turn, produce their own unique flavours in coffee. This also means that harvest times can vary quite a bit. In fact, between all its different regions, Colombia produces fresh crop nearly all year round.

The increasing focus on the specialty industry is changing the way traders and farmers do business. It is becoming more common for farmers to isolate the highest quality beans in their lots to market separately. These higher-quality lots are often sold under specific brands or stories.

Besides its wide variety of cup profiles, Colombia has quickly expanded its certification options over the past 10 years. The most common certifications available are Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance, UTZ and Organic.