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TASTES LIKE EVERY STRAWBERRY EVER MADE (AND SOME ROSE ON THE FINISH)
Our third year of this from Jairo Arcila. Co-ferments aren’t for everyone but this is so damn fun in the cup. Below is what I had to say on it last year, and it still holds true now.
If you like strawberries, our previous lychee release, or just like having a good time, then this is for you. I think this is my personal ever favourite bean I’ve had in. It might not be the highest scoring (there have been some 90+ in the past), and it might not be for everyone, but I just love this. Sometimes a coffee comes along with tasting notes of, I don’t know, melon, nut, caramel, and you might squint, swill the coffee around and think ‘yeah I can kind of get that I suppose’, not this time. This tastes like strawberries. The smell as well! Grinding this is a delight. Roast wise, it’s medium, unique and funky, I think this works best on filter, but there is a lot of fun to be had on espresso as well. I really hope and think this will be a crowd pleaser. Enjoy.
P.S., This is dearer than my other offerings, you might know I do try hard to keep things accessible, it’s an expensive bean.
THE COFFEE ITSELF
Jairo Arcila is a third-generation coffee grower from Quindio, Colombia. He is married to Luz Helena Salazar and they have two children together, Carlos and Felipe Arcila, who are the co- founders of Cofinet. Jairo's first job was at Colombia's second-largest exporter, working as their Mill Manager for over 40 years until his retirement in 2019. Jairo bought his first coffee farm, Finca la Esmeralda, in 1987 and this is where he planted his first Caturra lot. He was fortunate enough to earn money by producing coffee on his farm in addition to working full time.
Using his savings, Jairo slowly managed to purchase five additional farms. After Esmeralda came Villarazo, Mazatian, Santa Monica, Maracay and then Buenos Aires. During the harvest period, Jairo is able to provide a number of jobs to locals which has a significant economic impact on their community.
Jairo has received great advice and guidance from his sons who are now experts in producing Specialty Coffee. With their help, Jairo has greatly improved the picking, sorting, and processing of his coffees. His sons have also guided Jairo in the production of exotic varieties. He now grows varieties like Pink Bourbon, Java, Papayo ,and Gesha growing across all his farms. The guidance from his sons has empowered Jairo and given him the tools needed to produce fantastic coffees with amazing flavour profiles
This coffee was exposed to a dry anaerobic fermentation period of 72 hours with the pulp on. During this fermentation stage strawberry and wine yeast were added. The cherries were then pulped and placed to dry on raised beds with ripe strawberry placed amongst the coffee until the ideal moisture content was achieved. This microlot is 100% Castillo. This variety was developed by Federación Nacional de Cafeteros. It is more productive than Caturra and resistant to coffee leaf rust.