COLOMBIA - JAVA

FINCA LA ESPERANZA

With a long history of cultivation, this variety was introduced to the Indonesian island of Java directly from Ethiopia in the 19th century. 

VARIETAL: Java

PROCESSING: Thermal Shock Anaerobic Natural

ALTITUDE: 1,670 meters above sea level

PRODUCER: Jairo Lopez

REGION: Quindio, Pijao

TASTING NOTES: Vanilla, English Breakfast Black Tea, Apricot

Java boasts a wide range of aromatic elements and flavour profiles that arise from its unique growing conditions, processing methods, and bean varieties.

La Esperanza farm is located in the municipality of Pijao at 1760 metres above sea level, better known as the Quindío Mountain range. It has a unique environmental offer, where the Geisha varietal is produced with a total of 36,900 trees in production on a total of 14 hectares. of coffee cultivation and 5 hectares in forests and protection areas.

This farm has a 3x3 planting distance which allows the tree to express itself and have enough space to develop and grow in optimal conditions. Through pruning we form the tree in such a way that we have a harvest throughout the year, the coffee plantations are in association with crops (citrus, banana, plantain and flowers).

There is trees from 15 months to 80 months, which guarantees us to have all the stages of the coffee bean at all times and through a good collection carried out by workers in the area we ensure the quality of our product, the farm offers more than 20 jobs per farm and we have 4 different farms located in the mountain range between (Córdoba- Buenavista and Pijao)

In this farm, the methodology of planting and caring for the environment is essential since we are  aware  of  the  change that we must make in our crops, with the non-use of  chemicals, shade, pruning our trees should not be cut down for 20-25 years maintaining its production during all this time, thus keeping our legacy alive for many years.

The Lopez family has a coffee trading company where they take care of the entire process, from harvesting the fruit to the final assembly of the green bean, where they deliver to buyers from all over the world.

JAIRO´S WORDS

We are a family business developed by 4 brothers who were born in the mountains of Quindío, after our father migrated looking for business opportunities.

For more than 50 years in the coffee sector, we decided to reinvent our operations to adapt to the demands of a changing global economy, where the innovation and sophistication of our coffees could compete in the most demanding markets.

Our objective is to extend the varieties of our coffee portfolio, both in our cultivated varieties and in purchases from third parties, guaranteeing traceability and support in processing and respecting the environmental conditions of each crop.

One of the advantages we have as a company has been the innovation in our own processing processes and models to achieve the best qualities.

We have a continuous supply of our products, since each crop is in its favourable environmental supply, which allows us to have a constant production throughout the year; thus maintaining an optimal development of the crop that, combined with innovation in processing, has led us to obtain the best cups. This is reflected in the recognition of our product and in the increase in its demand.

ALL ABOUT THIS JAVA PROCESS 

• STEP 1. The cherries are picked and are immediately put into sealed plastic bags to start fermenting until the next morning.
• STEP 2. The bags are opened and with a machine specially designed by Jairo, the less dense or Broca-infected cherries are mechanically removed.
• STEP 3. A team of women hand-select and separate the remaining cherries into 3 categories: Pinton (still a bit green/yellow), ripe & overripe. The Pinton cherries will undergo a longer fermentation process before being pulped and used for washed and honey processes.
• STEP 4. For the geisha and java natural cm only the perfectly ripe cherries are used and transferred into 120 kg sealed plastic tanks to start the anaerobic process, 30cm headspace is left between the top of the cherries and the lid, and a valvula with water is placed on the lid to allow oxygen to be released whilst trapping the co2 and start a natural carbonic maceration.
• STEP 5. During days 1 and 2, the coffee must (juice or extract produced during the fermentation) be taken out every 12 hours, refrigerated for 4 hours, and then put back in the tank monitoring that the pH never falls below 3.9 and that the mass temperature never exceeds 24°c. A cool and controlled fermentation is key to maintain floral notes in the cup.
• STEP 6. During days 3 and 4, the coffee must that is now too acid is simply removed as it gets produced.
• STEP 7. The coffee is placed in raised African beds built by Jairo for 20-25 days. These raised beds are all in a greenhouse where temperature and airflow are constantly being monitored. Part of the secret is that all the varieties are dried under the same roof so Jairo believes that this helps transfer volatile attributes of certain varieties to others, adding complexity to the cup.

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