Scott’s Spotlight Collection 3: Oh there’s no place like a fermentation tank for the holidays …
Wait, those aren’t the words. Whether you are a person enjoying the holidays at home, or a coffee bean basking in the glory of a fermentation tank, I will try my best to bring you together this December.
We have made it. December 2021. A year that has been filled with it’s own shares of struggles and uncertainties as we all work towards finding our new normal’s. But what better way to finish out a tough year than in the midst of holiday cheer and excitement. Hopefully the pick I made for my 3rd installment can help bring some warmth to this season for you.
To briefly recap:
My first selection was made to highlight a less than common varietal. A varietal is simply the type of coffee bean, or the variety. A good example of this I like to use are oranges. Navel oranges, cara cara oranges, blood oranges, etc. They are all different types, but at their core they are all oranges.
My second choice was again based on varietal but for a different reason. This time it was a very well known varietal hailing from Kenya that had been transplanted and grown in Costa Rica. It was interesting to see how the coffee was affected growing under different environmental conditions as well as being processed in a way not typically seen in Kenya.
This time around I went for an uncommon method of processing. Anaerobic fermentation. But before I dive into that, what is processing? There are a variety of methods out there for achieving the end result of green coffee beans. The two most common are known as washed and natural. It all refers to the process that takes place between the harvesting of ripe coffee cherries and the end green bean that is ready for roasting.
Anaerobic fermentation is then a step along the path of another processing method. The basic gist of anaerobic fermentation is the removal of oxygen from a sealed environment. The ripe, harvested coffee cherries will be placed in a sealed tank. As they begin to naturally break down they will release carbon dioxide which will pressurize the tank and force out the oxygen. In theory then, as the pressure builds the juices and sugars from the cherries will be forced deeper into the structure of the bean. Hence the reason most anaerobic fermented coffee offerings have such pronounced fruit notes.
This AF coffee comes to us from Finca El Mirador, located in the Huila department of Colombia. Owner Miller Bustos is a third generation producer on this farm, inheriting it from his mother 20 years ago. It is still very much a family run operation today as he has help from his two daughters that also have desires to stay within coffee. It is not hard to tell that he puts a lot of time, energy, and love into his coffees. I hope you are able to gather that for yourself with a cup. Happy holidays and I’ll catch you next year with the 4th installment.
-Scott
Scott’s Spotlight Collection 2 : Took ya long enough
Patience. It’s been the name of the game these past 18 months more than ever. I’m sure anyone reading this would have no problem quickly listing five examples of how they were forced to exhibit or needed to receive patience during the pandemic. We’ve certainly not been a stranger to it in the coffee world. This coffee was slated to arrive much sooner than it did. But in the end, it gave me more time to prepare for it, and for that I’m grateful.
This next entry into the collection hails from the majestic hills of the Central Valley of Costa Rica, sort of. It technically originally comes to us from Kenya, the true home of the SL-28 varietal. That’s right, this coffee is one of Kenya’s most notable varietals that just so happens to have been grown in Costa Rica.
Dona Francisca and her husband are the owners of the Cumbres del Poas farm located in Sabanillia de Alajuela. They are third generation coffee producers that also own and operate the very well known micro mill of Las Lajas. These two staples of production in Costa Rica work hard to bring us not only the best coffees, but coffees that are extremely sustainable as well. Their farm is, and has always been, certified organic. They also focus on using minimal water at their processing mill, hence them being specialists in natural and honey processed beans.
Natural processing is something we don’t see from Kenyan offerings often if ever. Which is part of the excitement behind this pick. We’re getting all the punch we know and love from a Kenyan coffee, but with the added sugars and brightness we know from natural Costa Rican offerings. Science!
Anyhow that’s it for now. No one wants to read 6 more paragraphs of me trying not to use natural processing and offering too many times in one sentence. Thank you all for your tremendous support of this project and I sincerely hope you enjoy this second pick.
-Scott
Scott’s Spotlight Collection 1 : The Full MONTEblanco
While the phrase '“the full monty” conjures images of a critically acclaimed British comedy from the 90’s, it is actually a saying that hails from Lancashire. It’s loosely defined as everything which is necessary, appropriate, or possible. This definition left me no choice but to use this terrible pun as my introduction to my spotlight collection. I plan to do everything which is necessary, appropriate, or possible to seek out coffees worth being put in the spotlight.
As coffee professionals, and especially those of us riding the third wave full tilt, you will find in us an endless curiosity. A personal journey with no specific destination and no end in sight. We constantly crave the newest crop, the unheard of varietal, the new experimental processing technique. We love coffee of all shapes, sizes, and roast colors. We want to cup coffees until we’re cross eyed and listen to 2 hour long podcasts about the science behind the 800+ aromatic compounds found in the beans. These reasons, and hundreds more, are why I came up with this concept.
I am thrilled to use my position to pass along my passion and research to those who may themselves enjoy it. It is nothing new or novel I think I came up with, just a fun side project to get some cool coffee into the hands of those who would want it! So without further ado, I present to you the first member of Scott’s Spotlight Collection, Colombia Monteblanco Pink Bourbon! It is a light-medium roast with high acidity, a full body, and above average sweetness. Notes of pink grapefruit, green apple, papaya, and guava will dazzle your palate as you enjoy every last drop. In an interview with the owner of Finca Monteblanco, he says that the varietal is named Pink Bourbon for commercial reasons, but that he is convinced it is a Gesha by it’s presence in the cup. And after tasting it, we would have to agree with him. Below I will be adding the excerpt on Rodrigo Sanchez and what makes the work he is doing at Finca Monteblanco so special. I hope you enjoy this coffee as much as I have and I look forward to bringing you the next installment!
- Scott
From ALLY Coffee :
Finca Monteblanco, high along the winding mountain roads of Vereda La Tocora in the San Adolfo municipality above Pitalito, is a family farm managed by Rodrigo Sanchez Valencia in the tradition of coffee cultivation that began with his grandfather. Monteblanco’s 18 hectares sit on the crest of a hill, with the wet and dry mill at the top and slopes of coffee planted below.
In 2002, Rodrigo participated in a local program teaching children of coffee producers to cup. Before that, he and his family had never considered coffee in terms of cup profile. By learning to differentiate profiles, he and his father and grandfather were able to able to make the connections between the farming techniques they applied and coffee’s attributes in the cup.
At this time, Rodrigo also began to learn about cupping competitions that evaluate the best lots from farms in a region. He noticed that farms would win one year and then never again, so he decided to investigate how to produce quality coffee consistently. This led him to explore the trees planted on Monteblanco, were he discovered various varieties his grandfather had planted in the 1980’s.
In addition to the varieties most common in Colombia, Rodrigo found there were trees he had not noticed before, trees with different characteristics, including broad leaves that looked like Gesha. In the cup, the coffee he harvested also tasted like those of Gesha. This was the beginning of Pink Bourbon lot separation. Rodrigo learned that his grandfather had bought those seedlings in San Adolfo in the early 80’s during a leaf rust attack of la roya when he had to replace a portion of the farm’s trees.
In San Adolfo and Palestina, the Colombian Coffee Growers Federation ran an experimental farm in the 50’s and 60’s planted with 500 varieties, so Rodrigo and his grandfather think the trees probably originated from that farm. In 2014, Rodrigo planted three hectares of Monteblanco with Pink Bourbon and was delighted with its adaptability, productivity, and resistance to leaf rust. The cherries ripen to a rosy pink/orange color, giving name to this unique coffee variety.
All cherries harvested are measured for degrees Brix. Based on sugar content indicated, the team at Aromas del Sur--the umbrella group of Monteblanco, Progreso, and La Loma farms--then designates which processing method is appropriate. Coffees with 24-27 degrees Brix are processed as washed coffees, beginning with depulping cherries they day they are harvested.
Coffee is fermented between 28 and 32 hours, fully washed with clean water, transferred to the solar dryer for several days, and finally moved to shaded raised beds to complete the drying process. Floaters are removed at the first stage prior to depulping to produce clean, consistent coffees that represent the terroir of the farm.
Rodrigo is proud that he, his wife Claudia Samboni, farm manager Don Gerardo, and the team that works in the fields and at the mill have reached the goal of achieving consistent quality. Each harvest, Finca Monteblanco produces microlots that serve as competition coffees around the world, but the farm also consistently produces containers of delicious coffees that appear year-round on café menus and retail shelves. By applying an ethic of rigorous monitoring, planning, and management of each stage of production and processing, all coffees from Monteblanco showcase their full potential.
Harvesting and processing on Monteblanco have had to evolve with the times, adapting to a changing climate that yields harvest dispersed through ten months of the year rather than in a concentrated peak.