This was an absolute fan favourite last year, so when it came in again on a fly crop we HAD to have it. Our reputation for sweet, sugary Colombian fruit-bomb coffees is well earned, as these are some of our favourite coffees and the ones we love to highlight. This is the sugary-est one we'll probably have this year. Notes of Summer Strawberries, Cherry Juice, and Sugar. If you're looking for the sweet bomb of the year with a little less funk, get this one.
We sourced this coffee with our excellent importers at Falcon, who partner with us on all sorts of sustainability projects (like the Stumping Project in Ethiopia). We're increasingly partnering with them on Colombian coffee cooperatives where we feel we can make a difference. This one is from the Anserma cooperative, which has supplied about 50 70kg bags of our Colombian coffee this year, and will probably supply half a shipping container to us next year!
Established in 1967, the "Cooperativa de Caficultores de Anserma" emerged from a shared desire of coffee growers to pool their collective strength and knowledge. This unity was not merely symbolic, but practical, aiming to garner greater value for each associate's coffee crop.
One significant advantage the Coop provides is its Wet-Milling Plant, a haven for smaller growers who lack the infrastructure for their own coffee processing. These growers can deliver their cherries to the Coop and receive fair compensation. This arrangement is made possible by the Coop's natural processing plant, which elevates the quality of the coffee and in turn allows for better payments to the growers. Boasting an association of 2,083 members, the Coop's crops thrive in altitudes ranging from 1,790 to 2,200 meters. The varieties produced include Castillo, Colombia, and Caturra, with a primary focus on the natural process, although a small amount is fully washed.
The Coop purchases cherries from its associate growers, each cherry undergoing a classification process to determine its use in either natural or fully washed processing, based on its quality. Post-selection, the cherries undergo a cleaning phase, eliminating any unwanted solid particles and washing the cherries. The cleaned cherries then pass through an optical selection machine. This separates the ripe cherries from the greener ones, the latter being directed towards the washed process coffee, with the best ones assigned to the natural process. The selected cherries are moved to baskets, marking the start of an aerobic process lasting 24-36 hours.
These baskets find their place in a temperature-controlled room. This is an aerobic process in an open basket, allowing the free circulation of oxygen and CO2, which is produced during fermentation. The coffee is then relocated to a mechanical drying system, maintaining a temperature between 35 and 40 degrees Celsius until reaching a moisture level of 10-11%. Post drying, the coffee is packed in GrainPro bags to stabilize it for 15 days, with each processed batch kept separate to ensure careful management of this phase. The journey ends with the coffee moving to the dry milling plant, ready for the next stage in its story.
