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Colombia

El Mirador

Ripe tropical fruit and crisp acidity

This lot by Alba Diela Lopez uses a complex pre-fermentation protocol to create a rich and complex fruit profile.

Expert processing creates notes of tropical mango, while holding on to a crisp red berry acidity.

Producer
Alba Diela Lopez
Coffee expression
A fruity & rich coffee

Regular price: $24.00
incl. vat/tax
Sale price: $24.00
incl. vat/tax
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The Lopez Family

Alba Diela Lopez was inspired to work with coffee by her father, a 7 time Cup of Excellence finalist. She grew up on his farm, near Buesaco in Nariño, watching him care for the trees, and devote himself to producing quality lots. Alba’s father had wanted her to leave coffee, seeking a more affluent life in the city, but eventually agreed to let her follow her passion, in his footsteps. The land that became El Mirador was inherited from Don Lopez, and was immediately dedicated to the production of speciality coffee. In the meantime, Alba had met her husband, Artemio Libardo, who had also inherited a plot of land near Buesaco.

Together with Alba’s father, they have pushed to produce ever higher quality on all three farms, delivering cherry from each to their central processing station, located on Don Lopez’ farm.

El Mirador

The terroir in Nariño allows for the production of excellent quality raw material. Incredibly high altitudes, often over 2000 masl, and excellent sun exposure mean sugar-rich, slow-matured coffee cherries, with ample fuel for fermentation and roasting to create complexity and intensity. Expert processing is also required to realise the potential of these lots. The Lopez family have been experimenting with this for years, resulting in several high placings in the Cup of Excellence. The processing of this lot was influenced by the transport from farm to processing station, where coffee often started fermenting in cherry before it arrived to be de-pulped. Now, cherries are sealed in plastic tanks before they leave El Mirador, and fermented for 15 hours while they are driven to the process station. The coffee is then de-pulped, and fermented in sealed tanks again for 35 hours, before drying as a honey with mucilage attached. This translates the potential of these intensely sweet Nariño cherries into a rich and complex profile, with notes of tropical mango, while holding on to the crisp red berry acidity we’ve tasted from so many high altitude Nariño coffees.

Technical Data

Producer
Alba Diela Lopez
Region
Nariño
Altitude
2100 masl
Varietal
Caturra
Process
Honey
Harvest
October 2022

Honey Process

With the honey process a certain amount of mucilage and pulp are allowed to remain on the coffee bean during depulping. The cover will stay with the bean during fermentation and drying thereby contributing to the sugars absorbed by the bean and affecting the flavour notes of the final cup. The amount of mucilage remaining defines the type of honey process - white, yellow, red or black in ascending order of mucilage concentration. If they are processed properly, the coffees can take on quite a lot of sweetness and flavours while remaining clean.

Raised drying beds (sometimes referred to as African drying beds) are often preferable when working with honey processed coffees, because of the additional airflow they allow. The air ensures that the beans dry evenly and reduces the incidence of fungi and bacteria formation. On the other hand, some farmers are accustomed to using sun-exposed patio drying that require a regular raking of beans to avoid moulds. While total fermentation and drying time depend on such choices as well as ambient temperature and moisture levels, red honey processing easily needs two weeks from depulping until drying has completed.