Familia Vergara - Thermal Shock Natural

MEET THE PRODUCERS | At ages 23 and 25 years old, Nestor and Adrian Lasso are some of the youngest players in the game. Five years ago, they took over the family farm and set their sights on specialty coffee. They soon teamed up with Jhoan Vergara, a relative and fellow son-of-a-coffee-farmer, to create the farm known as El Diviso, where the trio continuously seeks to improve processing protocols and flavor outcomes. Though their parents were commodity coffee farmers, Nestor, Adrian, and Jhoan have taken a profound interest in specialty coffee production, in part because of its potential for real economic development - but also because they each have a passion for coffee production in general and experimental processes (like thermal shock!) in particular. By combining their knowledge and experience to improve production quality, Nestor, Adrian, and Jhoan hope to help other farmers and producers see that coffee is "a much more noble product than perhaps it first may seem."

This coffee, endearingly named Familia Vergara, is a blend of three coffees from the extended Vergara family, including the gentlemen discussed above. We are extremely grateful to Lohas Beans for cultivating our relationship with this storied Colombian coffee family and look forward to featuring more of their phenomenal work on our menu in the years to come!

TRUST THE PROCESS | These three lots (comprised of Chiroso, Red Bourbon, and Sidra varieties) were each processed as naturals with a thermal shock protocol. Although thermal shock is certainly having a moment right now, the Vergaras are some of the only producers who are endeavoring to experiment with is using naturally processed coffees (it seems ingenuity and innovation must run in the family).

After being picked at peak ripeness, the coffee cherries are oxidized for twelve hours at a controlled temperature before undergoing anaerobic fermentation for 50 hours. Then, they undergo a second round of oxidation in open-air tanks for an additional 20 hours. Round two of anaerobic fermentation lasts for 30 hours, after which the coffee undergoes one final round of fermentation - this time submerged  with the musto collected during oxidation. Eventually, the cherries are placed in a masquesina to dry until optimal moisture content is achieved.

TAKE A SIP | Though processed in the same way, each of the three coffees in this lot represent very different flavor profiles, and they came together in an intense and interesting way for this blend. Vibrant and complex, this coffee leans into the funky sides of things, with plenty of red fruits and one of our favorite funky flavor notes: blue razz. We taste it alongside strawberry candy and fuzzy peach, which sort of makes us think we're sampling everything in the candy shop. The Chiroso lot contributes an herbal note that we've seldom found in coffee - eucalyptus. 

This blend is funky, intense, and not for the faint of heart. But, if you're down to party, it's definitely here for a good time.

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Origin | Bruselas, Huila, Colombia

Producer | Familia Vergara

Farm | various

Process | Thermal Shock Natural

Variety | Chiroso, Red Bourbon, Sidra

Elevation | various