Colombia 2023 : Our journey to origin

In the first half of July, the head of R&D, Timur Dudkin, revisited Colombia.

The trip lasted almost two weeks and during this time many new and interesting things were done, which we would like to explain to you.

Calibration: we learn to understand each other better.

On the first days of the trip, we conducted training – calibrations of three groups, a total of60 peopleThe participants included: farmers, technical staff of the Coocentral Cooperative – including warehouse and quality laboratory workers from different departments of the Huila coffee growing region – agronomists, buyers, workers in the dry mill and in the head office who prepare the coffees for export.

We discussed the characteristics of the processes, fermentations, drying, and preparation for export. Variables that can and should be controlled were discussed in addition to the basic errors identified and how they affect the quality of green coffee.

The world of coffee is developing rapidly, and it is becoming increasingly easy to get confused in a sea of sometimes contradictory information and data.

It is impossible to treat coffee processed with modern methods, experiments and innovations as if it were ordinary coffee, based on old protocols and regulations.

The main task was to bring together all the links in the coffee production chain in the country of origin, to update and systematise basic knowledge, in order to see in more detail the impact of each link on the final result.

Hertson Bernal – Acknowledgement of contribution to the project ‘Jóvenes Productores del Huila’.

The culmination of the intensive training days was an award ceremony and an invitation to Hertson (Propus) to Barcelona. At the end of October, Hertson will fly to Barcelona to participate in Encuentros Cafeteros, where he will explain about his development path, how he has changed his approach to coffee processing.

Hertson is one of the first producers with whom we started our first experiences with processes in Huila. Hertson is now a true friend, an ambassador for natural processes, a reliable partner… Patience, analysis, hard work and passion pay off, we are very happy for him and look forward to seeing Hertson in Barcelona.

Visiting partners is an important and very pleasant duty.

During our stay in Huila we visited our producers in 2 departments: Garzón and Guadalupe.

We review the current situation, discuss growth points, critical moments where adjustments are needed now, and develop plans for the future.

First stop – Finca La Esmeralda (star Wasat),

The farm is located at an altitude of 1600 metres in the department of Garzón.
. Edwin Narvaez is a young farmer who joined our project 2 years ago and is very enthusiastic about learning new farming techniques.

This year we are expecting 5 micro batches from this producer, each one made with a specific recipe: DF Washed, XL Washed, Natural Mountain dry, OOTB Anaerobic Natural Mountain dry, Anaerobic Natural Sleeping Bag

Second stop – Finca Villa Inés ( Estrella Mekbuda) Clara Molina and Carlos Castañeda –

This wonderful couple has been with us for the third year and some of our roasters fondly remember rosé Bourbons, Tabi, Castillo and Colombia from this Finca.

They are excellent travelling companions and with each new batch they add quality, control and stability.

This year we also expect 7 new microlots of them processed with 5 recipes: DF Washed, XL Washed, Natural Mountain dry, OOTB Anaerobic Natural Mountain dry and Anaerobic Natural Sleeping bag.

Third stop – Finca El Descanso (Estrella Almeisan), Luis Antonio Contreras – one of our first farmers, where 6 years ago we started experimenting with his coffee.

Luis was working to prepare several dozen wonderful micro lots and managed to achieve a score of 90 points entering the Unique category.

This year Luis surprised us with his innovative approach in the construction of his new canopy, which has an area of 144 square metres, the materials and construction will significantly improve the drying, making it even cleaner and more uniform.

We expect 5 micro batches from Louis this year, but it is quite possible to add 1 or 2 more and increase the volume, because the infrastructure now allows it.

Fourth stop- Finca La Esperanza (Propus) Our main star – Hertson Bernal became our host for 3 days, during which we saw many interesting things.

Hertson has become a true ambassador of the natural process in the region. It supports the neighbourhood with information, and its new marquee is just great,

348 square metres, beautifully organised: this is a foothold for farmers with little infrastructure and a guarantee that the volume of state-of-the-art processes in this region will steadily increase.

Together with Hertson, we organised a meeting with the farmer-neighbours,

we tell you about our project and the conditions under which you can join us.

We ended the meeting with a tasting of 36 different local fruits.

We choose the most aromatic, sweet, acidic and balanced ones. Together we chose the most delicious fruits on the table which were Mangosteen, Mango, Tamarind and Pitaya.

From Hertson we are expecting a dozen micro batches, and we will continue to test new techniques with him.

Fifth stop – Finca Lucitania (Ni 1225)

We spent a couple of days in the company of Jaime Figueroa.

At his home and profit where we managed not only to work well, but also to get some rest. Jaime has a small but beautiful lake and in just one hour we managed to fish for dinner with friends.

In his benefit, we conducted practical and theoretical classes on processing 4 years ago and continue to improve the process structure this year, but we will talk more about this in the next paragraph.

Más control y optimización de procesos.

An important point of this trip was the adjustment of the process control points at the washing stations of our producers.

Now they control fermentations not only on the basis of time and temperature, but also on the basis of Ph and Brix sugar meters, fermentations can be controlled more precisely. Based on data on sugar concentration and acidity, it will be possible to be even more precise in producing not only delicious coffee, but also to understand the formation of specific flavour profiles.

At Jaime and Hertson’s farms, we set up tanks for anaerobic fermentation, which will allow us to control the process even better, in addition to time, temperature, acidity, sugar brix, we will be able to work with pressure and circulation of gases and liquids. This opens up many more experimental options for us.

Sharing and learning.

On the last day of the trip we went to Pitalito (Brussels) where, together with our friends from Lojas Beans, we visited the famous Finca El Diviso, which is managed by Nestor Neffer Lasso Zuñiga.

His farm is well known among specialists who follow the topic of Barista and Brewers Cup championships, as baristas from several countries have been training and winning with Nestor’s processed coffee for several years. It was a short but interesting visit where we exchanged experiences in fermentation and drying techniques.

For us there is no limit to learning and improvement. We are looking forward to many more discoveries and new experiences,

and we will definitely share them with you!