El Vergel Grape, Colombia | 150gm

This coffee comes from a community of smallholder producers across Tolima, Huila, and Caldas, Colombia, with the coffees brought together and processed at El Vergel Estate in Tolima. The estate is run by the Bayter family, who began cultivating coffee at El Vergel in 2010 and later established Forest Coffee as a way of developing innovative processing methods and creating greater value for Colombian producers.

At approximately 1750 masl, the coffees are sourced from Colombia's mountainous coffee-growing regions, where high elevation and cooler temperatures encourage a slower cherry maturation process. The combination of different microclimates across Tolima, Huila, and Caldas gives the producers access to a diverse range of coffee profiles, while the final processing at El Vergel allows the lots to be developed with greater control and consistency.

This lot is composed of Castillo and Caturra, two varieties widely cultivated throughout Colombia. Rather than representing a single farm or varietal, the coffee brings together selections from multiple smallholder producers, creating a broader expression of Colombian coffee while providing a consistent base for El Vergel's experimental processing.

The coffee is processed using a honey and grape co-fermentation. Ripe cherries are first carefully sorted and undergo an initial pre-fermentation before being pulped with some of their mucilage retained. The coffee is then anaerobically co-fermented for approximately five days with yeast and grape flavours, allowing the grape character to develop alongside the natural sweetness of the coffee. After fermentation, the coffee is mechanically dried for around ten days before being stabilised for a further period. This carefully controlled process is designed to build fruit intensity while retaining the sweetness and body associated with a honey process.

In the cup, this coffee presents a pronounced grape candy character, with the sweetness and fruit intensity of grape carried through a honey-like structure. The result is a highly expressive and confectionery profile that highlights El Vergel's approach to experimental co-fermentation.