011 Colombia — Heirloom

Colombia — rare +++
Collaboration between El Vergel & Farm El Diluvio —  Tolima, Colombia — Natural Anaerobic Heirloom

This amazing coffee is something you have to try.

The Heirloom Primitivo variety that originally came from Ethiopia was brought to Colombia around 2014-2016.
During this time many projects were developed by Cenicafe (the investigation center of coffee in Colombia) in collaboration with big companies such as Nestle. El Dilovio was one of the farms that took place in these projects during that time (or actually, they took advantage of the opportunity) and planted some of the ‘new’ varieties on their land.

At farm El Diluvio, located in the slopes going to the Nevado del Ruiz, in the town Herveo, where the mountains are almost touching the clouds (sometimes they do), you’ll find one of the most intriguing and exciting coffee farmers Elias and Shady ever met, with over 9 different varieties in micro-lots ranging from 1.000 plants up to 3.000 the most. Don Ronald, the person in charge of El Diluvio, has been in coffee for his entire life and as he says: he has been always intrigued in the ‘why’ behind the flavour differences of each coffee. That is how he began to involve different varieties to his farm, to find different flavours through only his washed process.
In 2021 Elias and Shady met Ronald and had an immediate connection. This is where they decided to collaborate and process coffee from El Diluvio at the facilities of El Vergel estate and make the first-ever naturals with Ronald’s coffee. What a great collaboration this was. Not only did they obtain some amazing and unique coffees, but also had more than one entry into the El Vergel competition series, which is the reflection of hard and long work of Don Ronald in the farm El Diluvio next to the great processing at El Vergel Estate with our friends Shady and Elias Bayter.

This Heirloom, was processed at the wet milling facility at of El Vergel, which is one of the first collaboration-processed coffees. It was made through an anaerobic fermentation of 96 hours with a cooling water system running through the outside of the tank to prolong the fermentation hours. Followed by a semi-mechanical drying process, which consisted on having it dry in silos and raised beds for 18 days, and then stabilised for 45 days in grain pro bags.

This is one rare coffee, where we have less than 40kg available and just over 100kg is produced!