El Mirador
Monteblanco farm is located in the Municipality of Acevedo, San Adolfo Jurisdiction in the village of La Tocora, surrounded be the natural national park Cueva de los Guácharos. Monteblanco is located within an average temperature between 16 and 22 degrees, with a luminosity of 1700 hours per year that allows the light to be used for the crops. Soils are mainly of volcanic origin, rich in nitrogen. The farm is often hidden by the white clouds descending from the peaks, which is why it got its name. Monteblanco is a family farm run by Rodrigo Sánchez Valencia, continuing the tradition started by his grandfather. On an area of 14 hectares, he cultivates varieties such as Geisha, Pink Bourbon, Pacamara, Caturra Purple and Caturra Red. A part of the farm is also set aside for coffee drying and a washing processing station. In addition, there is a cooler that guarantees a stable temperature of 10 to 14 degrees ℃ for the realization of cold fermentation. In addition to Monteblanco, Rodrigo has 2 more farms: La Loma and El Progreso and to manage them the company Aromas del Sur was created. In 2017, he and his team built a cupping lab on La Loma to handle sample
roasting, crop evaluation, and sourcing at origin. In 2017 and 2018, Monteblanco coffee took first and second place, respectively, in the Yara Champion Program, and in 2019 it won Roasters United.
150hr fermentation
For this process Caturra and Bourbon was chosen because of its versatility in the preparation of any process. Thanks to its great sweetness it allows the microorganisms to have an optimal area to work, where some of them are extracted as lactobacillus, saccharomyses and cerevisiae. Then they are cultivated separately with further addition of blackberries and blueberries. This mixture is fermented for 8 days.
After that, 80 liters of the obtained materials are added to the depulped coffee placed inside the 200 liter plastic baskets that are totally sealed. Here the fermentation lasts for another 150 hours until the Brix degrees do not fall below 6 and the pH does not fall below 4. The next step is cleaning from the remains of mucilage, followed by drying for 18-20 days. Beans are stored in the bags for one or two months. Before sending for export, they are cleaned using a huller machine.
About this coffee
Cupping score: 87.50
Farm: Monteblanco
Producer: Rodrigo Valencia
Region: Huila
Altitude: 1730 MASL
Variety: caturra
Processing: 150 hrs anaerobic washed
Variety
One of the most culturally and genetically important C. arabica varieties in the world, known for excellent quality in the cup at the highest altitudes. Bourbon is valued for its complex acidity and wonderful balance. It often has a sweet quality and nice and crisp acidity but can present quite distinct flavours depending on where it is planted.
Anaerobic fermentation
Fermentation is a chemical process whereby carbohydrates, such as sugars are broken down into alcohols or acids by microbial activities in the absence of oxygen. While fermentation is, by its nature, an anaerobic process, the term “anaerobic fermentation” refers specifically to fermentation that occurs in a custom-built, oxygen-free environment, such as a sealed container or tank.
