Wilton Benitez Anaerobic Natural Tabi

Yes it's time to renew our acquaintance with Señor Wilton Benitez and his farm Granja Paraiso 92, one of the masters of processing in Colombia. We were lucky enough to connect with Wilton back in 2021 and and his incredible coffees have been a regular on our list since then (albeit in small quantities).

Our latest release of Wilton's coffees is this Anaerobic natural Tabi with added micro-organisms which was amongst the first coffees we had from him back in 2021. The Tabi variety is a hybrid created by Colombia’s coffee research institute in 2002 as a cross between Typica, Bourbon and Timor Hybrid.

Wilton bought Granja El Paraíso-92 in 2015 and produces different varieties such as Java, Bourbon Pink, Geisha, Pacamara, Caturra, Tabi, Castillo, Supremo and Colombia. They use highly innovative cultivation systems such as terraces, drip irrigation, shade and nutrition calculations and a processing laboratory, all aimed at producing unique coffees.

To understand the complexities of modern processing Wilton studied the fermentation technologies used in wine, beer, cheese, and meat. With that understanding they began to control for certain variables similar to the processes for these other products. These metrics include the sugar content, pH level, fermentation duration, season, amongst others.

Wilton says that his coffees unique taste comes from three main factors: the first is the double fermentation method, the second is the microorganisms used at each stage, and the third is the technology used for soaking the beans with hot then cold water (thermal shock).

There is another important aspect of their operation, the drying method. They use a controlled drying process, which is done with equipment rather than natural drying in the sun. With this equipment, they are able to control and set programs that adjust temperature and drying speeds, so that the influence of the drying environment can be absorbed evenly by the beans. This helps guarantee that their products are consistently high quality.

I asked Wilton some specifics of the various processes used for this particular lot, and his response didn't disappoint:

1. Collection of 98% ripe cherries, 2% (semi-ripe) cherries. 

2. Wash the cherry with ozonated water and ultraviolet light to reduce the microbial load. 

3. Selection of denser grains with granulometry greater than 11.2 millimetres. 

4. The coffee is immersed in water at 80 degrees centigrade to accentuate the sweetness of the cherries.

5. First phase of fermentation in anaerobic cherry for 62 hours in fermentation bioreactors with relief valve at a temperature of 20 degrees centigrade (addition of saflager yeast S-23). 

6. The last 4 hours of fermentation, the product is oxygenated by injection of oxygen to the bioreactor in order to induce controlled acetic fermentation. 

7. Controlled drying for 88 hours, using specialized equipment to dry high quality coffee at a temperature of 40 degrees Celsius until the bean reaches 10.5% internal humidity. 

8. Threshing, electronic and manual selection to achieve the required physical quality standard. 

9. Analysis of physical and sensory validation for dispatch.