Colombia - Finca El Paraiso DECAF

PINEAPPLE, GOOSEBERRY, LIME CHEESECAKE

WHERE AND WHO

Finca El Paraiso is a farm located in the region of Piendamo, Cauca. His founder and owner, Diego Bermùdez has dedicated the last 13 years in growing coffees and also in gaining a deep knowledge about the scienze behind a good cup. Diego and his family were pioneers in studing and processing the coffee cherries with different fementation. Nowadays they represent one of the best fermenting station of the whole Colombia. 

FROM THE CHERRY TO THE BEAN

Sugar-Cane Decaf Process:

Before undergoing fermentations, this lot is decaffeinated using a product from sugar cane fermentation. The process does not involve the use of chemical solvents but takes place by exploiting caffeine hydrolysis.

Double fermentation w/ thermal shock:

The cherries are hand-picked, selecting only ones at the correct ripeness point, then are washed with distilled water to reduce the microbial load. This is followed by a first anaerobic fermentation of 48 hours at a controlled temperature of 18°C. The cherries are pulped and fermented again in the anaerobic wey for another 48 hours with the addition of selected Lactobacillus. At the end of this second process, the cherries are subjected to a double wash process with water at a controlled temperature: the first at a temperature of 45°C, the second at a temperature of 5°C, thus causing a thermal shock that favors aromatic fixation inside the bean. The cherries are then dried in natural condensation dryers until the correct moisture percentage is reached.

ABOUT THE VARIETY

CATURRA:

The Caturra variety is a natural mutation of the Bourbon variety. It was first found in Guatemala in the mid-1900s. This variety is characterized by the reduced size of the plants, which, for this reason, can be planted closer together, ensuring greater productivity per unit area. In Colombia, the Caturra variety arrived massively in recent years when, in 2008, the government encouraged the replacement of older plants in favor of the new variety, which is more resistant and more productive.

COLOMBIA:

Also known as “Variedad Colombia”, this variety was developed by Colombian researchers at Cenicafe by crossing Caturra and Timor Hybrid. Cultivated since 1982, it was designed to combat the predicted leaf rust epidemic in Colombia. Its development is credited with saving the Colombian coffee industry from serious damage when rust reached Colombia in the mid-1980s.