Colombia El Silencio Natural

Silencio is back, baby! This has always been a core favourite, so we bought some of the fresh crop to keep the ball rolling. We think it's even better and fresher than when we had it last time. Try it for yourself!

Some say we are developing a reputation for having the most sugary, fruit-bomb Colombians on the market. We won't deny it – these are some of our favourite coffees and the ones we love to highlight. This one is particularly lovely, with lush notes of green apple, cherry, and orange, plus a dash of golden rum.

We sourced this coffee with our partners at Falcon, who work with us on all sorts of sustainability projects (like the Stumping Project in Ethiopia).

Producer Robinson Rivera has been growing coffee for 18 years. This coffee comes from his farm, El Silencio, situated at 1700-1850 meters above sea level with six hectares of coffee-growing land. This naturally processed lot undergoes tank fermentation for 48 hours before being silo dried at 28º Celsius. Drying is paused at 16 hours and the temperature is raised to 37º until 20% humidity is reached. Further fermentation takes place in sealed plastic drums for 24 hours, after which parabolic drying is used to achieve 10% humidity.

This coffee is produced and exported through the Asociación de Caficultores del Centro del Cauca por la Paz. The ACC co-op is a non-profit organisation that was created in 2016 in Piendamó, Cauca. The purpose of the association has always been to improve coffee quality from crop to commercialisation, as improving these aspects has a positive social impact on the region. Increasing the well-being of the peasant families, taking care of the environment, and providing stability and peace are ACC's main goals.

ACC has 77 associates with an average of 1.5 hectares of land that range between 1,700-2,100 MASL. The association helps members with commercial strategies and crop-related technology, and every member has the chance to learn how to process their coffee with innovative fermentations. The members grow Castillo, Cenicafé, Tabi, Bourbon, Caturra and Colombia. Most of the drying is done through parabolic and mechanical silos, and the association rents a storage facility in Piendamó, right beside the coffee purchasing center. In this facility there is a coffee laboratory that has all the equipment needed for coffee selection and cupping, to support the producers from plant to profit. 

Elevation: 1800 Meters Above Sea Level
Varietal: Castillo, Colombia, Caturra
Cup score: 88
Price paid per kg: £11.43
Process: Fully natural in mechanical cold dryers