Juan Giraldo - Bioinnovation Washed

La Palma Y El Tucán is a longtime friend of the Black & White family, and if you've been around here awhile, you've likely seen their name printed on several of our labels over the years. La Palma is run by husband-wife power duo Felipe and Elisa Sardi, and their vision for "better coffee, better practices, and a better world" began to come into focus when they purchased 18 hectares of land in the Cundinamarca region of Colombia over thirteen years ago. That vision has always rested on two pillars: community, and quality.

This commitment to community and their obsession with processing perfection are two of the reasons La Palma features so prominently on our menu. But, they also keep coming around because you guys love their coffees - and we love sharing them with you! Last fall, we had the immense pleasure of sending four of our very own roasters to the gorgeous place that is La Palma Y El Tucán. There, they were able to experience the magic of La Palma firsthand, and gain a better understanding of the process by which these coffees make their way from the soil to our coffee cups.

Every year La Palma Y El Tucan seems to elevate quality and consistency while isolating new flavor profiles within their Neighbors and Crops offerings. This lot from producer Juan David Giraldo is no exception.

MEET THE PRODUCER | Juan David Giraldo, at the age of 27, is a passionate young man about coffee and the owner of La Betulia farm, located in the municipality of Génova. Coming from a family of farmers and with a lawyer father, Juan David was always exposed to the legacy of coffee and agricultural knowledge. From a young age, his father taught him everything related to coffee farming, instilling responsibilities on the farm. He has applied this knowledge on his farm, and thanks to coffee, he has been able to pay for his education and provide for his family's livelihood.

TRUST THE PROCESS | This unique adaptation of processing, known as Bio-innovation, was developed by La Palma's own Sebastian Villamizar, who was inspired by traditional wine fermentation methods. For this particular adaptation, clay pots are buried in the forest floor to control fermentation temperature. Inside, perfectly ripe coffee cherries are mixed with a microbial-rich compost that is made at La Palma and serves as an organic and biodiverse fermentation substrate. The coffee cherries in this lot underwent aerobic stabilization fermentation for 126 hours before being removed to those claypots for an additional 90 hours of anaerobic fermentation. The cherries were then pulped and underwent another 12 hours of aerobic fermentation. After being washed, they spent thirty five days drying on patios.

TAKE A SIP | Roaster Hayley Black chose this coffee while visiting La Palma last fall. A strikingly confectionary sweetness is what drew Hayley to this coffee as she sipped it at La Palma, and it reminded her of devouring vanilla bean ice cream from a freshly baked waffle cone. Its subtle complexity (peek the pluot flavor call!) became more apparent with each sip, and she knew: this is it. This is the coffee for me.

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Roaster | Hayley Black

Origin | Génova, Quindío, Colombia

Producer | Juan David Giraldo

Farm | La Betulia

Process | Bioinnovation Washed

Variety | Castillo

Elevation | 1700 masl