Finca El Jardin, Colombia (Natural) Specialty Coffee

The process of natural fermentation of this Caturra is done in 40-liter tanks with air traps to release carbon dioxide and prevent air from entering. The fermentation time depends on the amount of sugar and microorganisms in the cherry and can take from 36 to 72 hours, based mainly on the rate of dioxide release because as the fermentation process is completed, the dioxide release slows down.
 

Arabica Variety

Caturra is a natural mutation of the Bourbon variety. It was discovered on a plantation in the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil sometime between 1915 and 1918. Caturra has a single-gene mutation that causes the plant to grow smaller (called dwarfism). Its name derives from the Guarani word meaning "small." It is also called "Nanico." After Caturra’s discovery, selections were made by the Instituto Agronomico (IAC) of Sao Paulo State in Campinas, Brazil, starting in 1937. Breeders were interested in Caturra’s small size, which allows plants to be placed closer together, and its closely spaced secondary branches, which enable it to produce more fruit in the same space.

The selection process for Caturra was called mass selection, meaning that a group of individuals is selected based on their superior performance, seed from these plants is bulked to form a new generation, and then the process is repeated. The variety was never officially released in Brazil but has become common in Central America.

It was introduced in Guatemala in the 1940s, but widespread commercial adoption didn’t happen for another three decades. From Guatemala, it was introduced to Costa Rica, Honduras, and Panama. Today, it is one of the most economically important coffees in Central America, to the extent that it is often used as a “benchmark” against which new cultivars are tested. In Colombia, Caturra was thought to represent nearly half of the country’s production until a government-sponsored program beginning in 2008 incentivized the renovation of over three billion coffee trees with the leaf-rust-resistant Castillo variety (which has Caturra parentage).

Fermentation Natural
Natural process, dry process, unwashed, or natural sundried all refer to the same method of processing that usually involves drying coffee cherries either on patios or raised beds in the sun. To prevent the cherries from spoiling, they are raked and turned throughout the day and then covered at night or during rainstorms. This process, which can take 3-6 weeks normally, is the more-traditional method of processing coffee. This process of drying the cherries out in the sun originated in places without reliable access to water and usually works best in areas with low humidity and infrequent rain — such as parts of Ethiopia and Yemen — although there are farmers using the natural process in other places as well, like central or south America.
After the cherries have been dried to the optimum level, they are sent to mills to separate the seeds from the rest of the dried fruit, otherwise known as being “hulled.”