#0005 Colombia Jairo Arcila Peach Co-ferment - 150g

Jairo Arcila is a third generation coffee grower from the lush, green, rolling Andean mountains of Quindío, Colombia. He and his wife, Luz Helena Salazar, have a farm near the town of Armenia called Santa Mónica. Their two sons, Carlos and Felipe Arcila, run a processing facility called La Pradera and also operate an export company called Cofinet.

After a 40-year career managing dry mills for one of Colombia’s largest exporters, Jairo retired to focus on his own farms. With guidance from his sons, who are experts in specialty coffee production, he has refined the picking, sorting and processing of his coffees, while also introducing more exotic varieties. Today, Jairo grows coffees including Pink Bourbon, Java, Papayo and Geisha, producing distinctive and increasingly complex flavour profiles.

For this lot, only the ripest cherries were hand-picked before being transported to La Pradera in GrainPro bags. On arrival, the cherries are floated in water tanks to remove any low-density or unripe beans and foreign matter. The water is reused across multiple batches before being filtered through a series of specialised tanks and irrigated into vetiver grass beds, ensuring no contaminated water is discharged from the processing centre.

The cherries then undergo a 48 hour anaerobic fermentation, during which the peaches and wine yeast are added into the mix to work their magic. The peaches impart stone-fruit flavours, while the wine yeast helps drive fermentation and produce aromatic compounds that add complexity and depth to the already punchy Pink Bourbon cherries. Highly efficient at converting sugars during fermentation, the yeast also helps break down the mucilage and release organic acids and other compounds that contribute to flavour. Following fermentation, the cherries are pulped and thoroughly washed to remove remaining mucilage. The wastewater generated is treated using the same system as before, filtered through specialised tanks and irrigated into vetiver grass beds. Through this natural process, the water is purified and safely returned to the environment.

Once washed, coffees are either spread out on raised beds (for exotic varieties) or placed in an Elbas drying station for larger lots. The beans are raked and checked on frequently to ensure a slow and steady drying process, looking to get the moisture content between 9.5% and 11%. They also keep a close eye on the temperature of the greenhouses during this phase, to aid in ensuring consistent drying throughout.