Julio Madrid - Nitro Caturra

MEET THE PRODUCER | Julio Cesar Madrid is a name you've seen here before - he's the director of the joint farms, Finca La Riveria and Finca Milan, which were first cultivated by Julio's ancestors over forty years ago. Together with his business partner and master processor, Andres Julio Quinceno, Julio Madrid has made it his life's work to produce incredible coffees and practice innovative and exacting processing methods. This Caturra lot, which underwent a unique style of anaerobic fermentation that utilizes nitrogen injection, is a stunning example of those two goals being executed perfectly, together.

TRUST THE PROCESS | Get ready for a real science lesson - this unique adaptation of anaerobic processing was created by Julio Quinceno himself, and it capitalizes on something called embryonic stress to produce some really unique and exciting flavor profiles! Picking a coffee cherry kickstarts a metabolic process inside the seed as it prepares for germination, and Julio and his team wanted to take advantage of this increased cellular activity (and therefore increased temperature) during the fermentation process. So, right after being picked, the coffee cherries are placed in bags for 10-12 hours to quickly increase their internal temperature before being cooled in a water tank at 8-10 degrees Celsius. Next, the coffee is depulped and the mucilage collected, being placed in plastic barrels for an additional 10-12 hours to allow for oxidation. Finally, the whole batch heads to a sealed bioreactor, where it ferments for 4-6 days alongside added starter cultures and an injection of nitrogen. Finally, the coffee is removed to drying beds to sun-dry in thin layers for 15-20 days, until optimal moisture content is achieved. 

TAKE A SIP | Given its meticulous processing and lengthy fermentation period, you might expect this coffee to register pretty high on our funkiness scale, and yet... not so much. This is definitely a high fermentation-impact coffee, but the tasting experience isn't funky or boozy. Instead, it's delightfully fruity and remarkably clean. It's also really sweet, leaving us with a candy-like sensation throughout - think watermelon Laffy Taffy. This fruited, floral expression reminds us of guava and rose, and the sweet citrus character is reminiscent of pineapple. The whole drinking experience is vibrant and delightful - a real testament to the success of the processing experiments happening at Finca La Riviera.

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Origin | La Estrella, Risaralda, Colombia

Producer | Julio Madrid

Farm | Finca La Riviera

Process | Nitro Fermentation / Advanced

Variety | Caturra

Elevation | 1700 masl