Colombia El Diviso - Java

One of the most exciting parts of our 2022 trip to origin in Colombia was meeting Nestor Lasso in Huila, the heart of Bruselas. Not only was this a long sought and well deserved ending to a days long journey with Cata & Pierre, but it was also an inspiring beginning.

Nestor, who is only 22, spends most of his time in the town centre, in the main coffee cooperatives, roasting samples, cupping, learning and meeting people. No doubt, he is the Sales guy in the family. That is how we met him, that is how we became acquainted with his passion and that is how we became good friends.
On the other hand, his brother Adrian, 24, spends all his time at the farm helping his dad Jose at the mill centre. He reads, does researches and experiments at the farm, challenging tradition with ideas and understanding fermentation and all other natural processes.

Basically, they take conventional codes of coffee production, twist them, experiment with exotic varieties, micro-organisms, fermentation methods and bold ideas. Nestor’s drive for novelty inspired us not only to buy his coffee, but to be more involved in the areas he needed help the most.

This is one of the first direct trade relationships we’ve established in Huila through our partners at the origin Cata Export and we’ve enjoyed it since 2019. 

Process:

Step 1. The cherries are hand picked and selected to reach a optimal maturity stage.

Step 2. The cherries are left to oxidate in cheery for about 36h in open bags

Step 3. The cherries are selected by density by putting them in water and removing the ones that float. This also helps cool the inside temperature of the cherries before the next step.

Step 4. The coffee is pulped and packed in sealed plastic bags calibrated at 50kg each to undergo an anaerobic process for 60h.

Step 5. The beans are washed with water at 40 degrees and the cooled with cold water to stop the fermentation (thermal shock).

Step 6. The beans are put to dry in a casa elba for 12-15days depending on the weather and the beans are moved 3-4 times a day to make sure that all the beans dry evenly.