Rio Negro & Iquira, Colombia (fully washed) Specialty Coffee

Colombia is one of the world’s top producers of Arabica coffee, and over the years the country has become synonymous with quality coffee. The country has nurtured its coffee industry over the years and the spirit of innovation is strong; new coffee varieties and processing innovations have come from Colombia as well as classic, balanced lots beloved by coffee drinkers.

Most of the country’s coffee is grown by small producers scattered in its many coffee-growing regions. These coffee growers in rural Colombia have seen decades of low-intensity political conflict between paramilitary groups, guerrilla groups, and the government, though a peace deal approved in 2016 made great strides in the peace and reconciliation process.

The 60-70 producers that have contributed to this lot of coffee live in the charming towns of Tesalia and Teruel. The department of Huila borders Tolima, and it’s the highest-producing region in the country. Huila boasts a chain of volcanoes, the Nevado de Huila, which historically has enriched the soils of the region, creating ideal growing conditions for coffee. Huila has its own designation of origin, and it produces coffees renowned for their bright acidity, balanced body, and rich sweetness.

 

 

Fermentation Washed
The washed (or parchment-dried coffee) process is widely used across Latin America and parts of East Africa. It involves the removal of the pulp and mucilage surrounding the parchment with the use of either friction or fermentation and large volumes of water. The most common practice of the various stages of this process is outlined below:

• Selectively harvested cherries do not require extensive quality control. After cherries have been loaded into a siphon, the uniformity of the degree of ripeness can be easily assessed. Water is used to separate floaters and to transport the cherries;
• Submerged cherries are transported to the pulper that forces the seeds out of the cherry by mechanical means. At this stage, the pulped beans are still covered with a mucilage layer that sticks to the parchment.
• The slimy mucilage is slowly removed by a process of fermentation, often under water. The fermentation time may vary according to ambient temperatures (i.e., 16 – 72 hours) and the process is completed once the mucilage is fully removed. Currently, there is a lot of experimentation on coffee farms with different fermentation protocols.
• Water is then used to stop fermentation by cleaning the parchment of microorganisms and organic matter. This water then drives the seeds toward drying facilities. In addition, beans can be separated in washing channels by density.

Drying of coffee is done on patios, raised African beds, or mechanical driers. The washed process is the most resource-intensive method of processing. It was developed in equatorial regions, where frequent rain required fast processing times.