Colombia - La Pradera

The Coffee

There are many delightful coffees from Colombia, but every once in a while one comes along that truly stands out. For us, this is the coffee was La Pradera. Grown by José Hernán Quintero and his family, at 1700 MASL in the Tolima region. This coffee starts with the selection of the ripest cherries, which then is placed in a tank with water where the floaters (cherries with defects) are taken out. The ones which are well developed, sink, and then the water is drained. These cherries are left to ferment in containers without the presence of oxygen for 36 hours. After the time has passed, they are pulped without water, dry, and taken to containers to finish the fermentation process for another 36 hours. The drying phase is done in parabolic covered beds, where the sun rays don’t directly hit the beans, this slows the drying to develop better flavor. This coffee is complex, yet balanced. Sweet flavors of ripe Pomegranate, Passion Fruit, Marshmallow