#0006 Colombia Nestor Lasso Papayo Advanced Natural - 150g

For the next instalment of our Microlot Project, we’re heading back to Finca El Diviso and Nestor Lasso’s incredible range of experimental coffees. This time, we’ve got his Yellow Papayo. A rare and highly sought-after Colombian Arabica variety, named after its elongated, pointy cherries which ripen yellow-orange and look a little like miniature papayas.

Finca El Diviso sits at 1,750 masl in Pitalito, southern Huila, where a mild climate and nutrient-rich volcanic soils create ideal conditions for exceptional coffee.

Five years ago, brothers Nestor and Adrián Lasso began transforming their family farm into a centre for coffee innovation alongside fellow producer Jhoan Vergara. Working with Cata Exports, they’ve since developed experimental fermentation and processing techniques that have earned international recognition.

Nestor represents a new generation of Colombian coffee producers, combining an obsessive attention to detail with a willingness to experiment. Training in processing, sensory analysis and market strategy has helped him push what’s possible between cherry and cup – and this Yellow Papayo is a brilliant example.

The coffee undergoes Nestor’s Advance Natural process, starting with Yellow Papayo cherries selected at 24–28 Brix – seriously ripe and packed with natural sugars – before being floated in cold water to remove lower-density fruit. Then things get complicated. Whole cherries spend 36 hours oxidising at around 25°C, followed by 24 hours without oxygen at 16–18°C, another 24 hours of oxidation and finally 48 hours submerged. During this last stage, the liquid released by the cherries is continuously recirculated through the coffee to build flavour intensity and consistency.

Next comes a 30-minute thermal shock at 50°C. A portion of the coffee is then dried to 18–20% moisture, rehydrated and mixed 50/50 with fresh cherries before depulping – combining fresh fruit character with flavours developed during the earlier drying stage. Finally, the coffee spends around 60 hours in a dehumidifier before drying is paused at 18% moisture. It rests in black bags away from light for another 60 hours, then drying resumes until it reaches a stable 11%.

The result? An intensely fruity, complex coffee packed with green apple and tropical fruit sweetness, with a distinctly boozy hit of spiced rum. A lot of work for one very small bottle but one taste and you’ll understand why.