Colombia is one of the largest coffee producing countries by volume, but more than that, it also has particular notoriety in the specialty coffee space for being the origin of many fantastic lots. Due to its ideal growing conditions and slew of expert farmers and producers, some of the best coffee in the world comes from Colombia. Certainly, Colombian coffees have been some of the best we’ve tasted at Cape Coffee Beans in the past.

We’re rather familiar with the farm this coffee comes from and its owner, having tasted a few lots from El Placer before, several of which were roasted by Origin Coffee Roasting no less. Colombian coffee producers are notorious for being on the cutting edge of coffee processing methods, and owner-producer Sebastian Ramirez is no exception. Utilising a well-equipped microbiology laboratory, Ramirez and the El Placer team formulate and experiment with groundbreaking new coffee processing techniques, as is the case with this particular lot. 

You can read the technical details (courtesy of Origin) below, but essentially this coffee has been through a kind of double carbonic maceration process. This entails submerging and sealing whole coffee cherries in an airtight container. Carbon dioxide is then injected/pumped into the chamber, creating a pressurised and oxygen-deprived environment in which the coffee is left to ferment for several days. Following this, the Finca El Placer team remove the cherry and de-pulp it, then return the freshly excised coffee seeds (beans, as the average coffee enthusiast knows them) for a second round of carbonic maceration – i.e. a carbon injection and fermentation period. 

Importantly, this second stage includes the addition of the coffee mosto into the airtight tanks. Mosto (or mossto, depending on who you ask) is the juice extracted from the coffee cherry during depulping. In other words, this stage of the process involves fermenting the now de-pulped coffee bean in its own fruit juices in a pressurised and oxygen deprived environment. This results in truly unique flavour and textural qualities in the eventual cup that you just have to try for yourself. 

Phaedon's tasting notes

What can I say? It's everything that I've come to know and love from an El Placer lot: intense fruit, candied sweetness, an effervescent mouthfeel, and an intriguing warm spice quality. This one reminded me of toffee, tropical flavoured boiled sweets, and perhaps even of ginger. It's just pure gustatory wow.

Origin’s notes

• Flavour: grapefruit, watermelon, gummy bears, boiled orange
• Body: juicy, medium
• Acidity: amarula (tart)
• Roast: light
• Suggested brewing methods: V60, Chemex, espresso

Coffee details from Origin

• Country: Colombia
• Region: Quindio and Huila
• Farm: Finca El Placer
• Owner: Sebastian Ramirez
• Altitude: 1200 - 2100 masl
• Variety: Caturra
• Processing: Anaerobic fermentation

“El Placer Farms Hacienda Corcega Beneficio Center is equipped with the latest technology, located in Quimbaya. Sebastian and his team avoid the use of herbicides… and prioritise soil health, which results in healthy plants and contributes to great flavour profiles. Sebastian has access to a well-equipped microbiology laboratory, crucial for the El Placer team in developing innovative and exotic coffees.

“Most of the coffee Sebastian produces is processed naturally or via honey and undergoes carbonic maceration. He also makes use of yeasts and lactic bacteria cultivated for their fermentations to provide unique cup profiles. In his quest to maximise the flavour potential of every variety, Sebastian is taking a step forward by adding the musto from cherries to the coffee during fermentation.”

“For the Caturra Honey LI process, the first step is to seal the coffee cherries inside 200L plastic cans for 100 hours at a constant temperature of 18 ° C, with CO2 injection (a process called carbonic maceration).

The cherries then go for de-pulping and another (round of) anaerobic fermentation for 100 hours which includes a CO2 injection, inoculation with lactic acid, [and the addition of coffee mosto].

“Throughout the fermentation, PH levels and temperature are carefully monitored. The [coffee] then goes for their first drying stage on raised beds, with drying controlled at 40 degrees C and 25% humidity for about 20 days. The second drying stage on raised beds under canopies is for another 5 days.”