Colombia Finca El Jaragual. Adv Process. Caturra

Origin/Region: Colombia. Amalfi, Antioquia

Farm/Producer: Finca El Jaragual / Jorge Mira & Jonny Martinez

Varietal: Castillo Process: Washed Innoculated Yeast Thermal Shock

Altitude: 1500m Harvest: 2023/2024

Importer: MiCafe Trading Co. Cupping Score: 86.50

FOB(£)/Vol: £11.50/ 70kg

Roasted for Espresso & Filter

We taste: Passionfruit, Mango & Tropical

The Story

I met Jonny Martinez of MiCafe Trading Co when he stopped by the roastery with some samples a few years ago just when he’d begun. His import company is the exclusive source for Wilton Benetiz and Granja Paraiso 92. A world-renowned producer and farm that is has been everywhere the past few years. I’ve had the pleasure of roasting many different coffee’s from Wilton and am happy to call Jonny a good friend whose family farm, Finca El Jaragual is going to be one you see for many years.

Finca El Jaragual sits at 1500 MASL in the Amalfi municipality of Antioquia, Colombia. The farm is named after Jaragual grass - an African wild grass that has become naturalised to Colombia, frequently grown for feedstock and fodder, drought resistant and hardy. The farm was originally a 150-hectare plot until Jorge acquired 90 HA nearly a decade ago. In 2019 Jonny and his brother purchased 60 HA - with all the work since then being to convert the farm back to coffee production. The vast majority of El Jaragual is forest - Jorge’s experience is as a forestry engineer. So he has planted a mixture of pine forest plantations to be grown for sustainable timber alongside the protected native forest.

The processing at El Jaragual has been done with a deft touch - extended ferments, yeast inoculation, and some thermal control (hot water washes, cold water crashes) to modulate the fermentation rate and green porosity, but without any trace of funk or boozy character.

Overall, an increased amount of technical intervention in the processing, but not on the level of bioreactors and lab plants - a nice bridge between the classic style of processing and the new, something we can get full throttle behind in supporting.

Having tasted this first harvest from Jaragual, we’re certain it’s going to join the pantheon of World Class Farms, and we'll do our best to help promote that.

PROCESS:

1. Harvesting: This is carried out ensuring a minimum of 90% ripe cherry.

2. Floating: This ensures the removal of green, overripe, and dry cherries.

3. Oxidation: This is done in food-grade plastic drums for 24 hours.

4. Pulping: The cherries are pulped dry.

5. Oxidation after pulping: For 24 hours in order to remove the mucilage. The coffee is then washed at temperatures of 45°C, creating a thermal shock.

6. Fermentation: For 48 hours at temperatures below 25°C with specific yeast.

7. Fermentation completion: After 48 hours, the coffee is washed at temperatures of 5°C to seal the fermentation.

8. Drying: After the 48 hours of fermentation, the coffee goes into drying, which is carried out for 76 hours at average temperatures of 40°C.

9. Stabilisation: This is done in grainpro-type bags.