Colombia

Pre-release: Jardines del Eden

By Felipe Arcila

This pack focusses on four varietals grown at Jardines del Eden. Each is fermented using the same protocol, so the differences here are due to the varietal.

This means each of the 4 varietals are able to showcase their characteristics in a very rich and sweet process forward expression.

Producer
Felipe Arcila
Available for purchase here
Coffee expression
Bourbon: A sweet & rich coffee
Typica: A floral & rich coffee
Java: A floral & acidic coffee
Bourbon: A fruity & wild coffee

Regular price: $73.00
incl. vat/tax
Sale price: $73.00
incl. vat/tax
Regular price: ~~$73.00~~
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Jardines del Eden

Four varietals, one process

This pack focusses on four varietals grown at Jardines del Eden. Each is fermented using the same protocol, so the differences here are due to the varietal.

Cherries are first fermented in an open tank for 24 hours, before being sealed in plastic ‘Grain-pro’ bags for 50 hours, with the temperature controlled so that the fermentation mass doesn’t exceed 22°. This leads to a rich and definitely ‘process-forward’ expression, while maintaining a great deal of clean varietal character in the final cup. This means each of the 4 varietals are able to showcase their characteristics in a very rich and sweet process forward expression. The story of how each varietal ended up growing in the fields of Colombia spans centuries, and involves early agriculture, smuggling, and colonialism, before moving into more modern methods of breeding and selection.

The sweet and rich character of Bourbon complements the heavier notes brought by the process, with notes of milk chocolate and soft stewed fruits.

Bourbon

Most Arabica varietals grown across the world are descended from the same small set of varietals taken out of Ethiopia and cultivated in Yemen in the 1600’s. This creates somewhat of a genetic ‘bottleneck’ for coffee, coming from incredibly diverse within Ethiopia, to almost 98% of coffee production in Latin America comprising of plants descended from just two varieties, Bourbon and Typica. These were the first ever cultivated coffee varietals, isolated from wild coffee in Ethiopia, and slowly used to populate the coffee growing lands of Yemen, India, and then the ‘New World’ as it was colonised by Europeans. Bourbon arrived in Latin America from Yemen via the French Island of Réunion, at that point known as Bourbon.

Felipe’s Bourbon is an example of the sweet and rich character of Bourbon complementing the heavier notes brought by the process, with a heavy creamy body underpinning sweet and clean notes of milk chocolate and soft stewed fruits.

The crisp white florals of Typica shine through the heavier process character, driven by deep dried fruits and cocoa.

Typica

Typica, the other parent varietal, took a slightly more protracted route to Latin America. It is said that Typica was smuggled out of Yemen and into India by the Indian Sufi monk Baba Budan, and from there was cultivated in Indonesia for a time. From this stock in Indonesia, a single plant was taken by Dutch settlers back to Amsterdam, and it is from this single tree that all modern Typica was introduced to Latin America.

Typica is known for delicate and floral cups, harking back to its Ethiopian heirloom heritage. Here, the Typica is showcasing all of its floral and delicate character, with crisp white florals shining through the heavier dried fruit process character.

The character of Java is showcased through crisp and bright florals, while the process enhances notes of ripe tropical fruit.

Java

It was initially thought that Java was descended from Typica, given the similar cup characteristics and lengthened seed, but genetic sequencing found that it was closer to another Ethiopian heirloom strain known as Absynia. Typica, Geisha and Java are all of the ‘Ethiopian Long Berry’ classification, and tend to produce floral and delicate cups. Java itself is Ethiopian heirloom strain introduced to the Indonesian island of Java by the Dutch in the early 19th Century. Since then, it has been grown in several countries, but the current varietal was introduced to Costa Rica in 1991 after selection by a breeder in Cameroon during the 1980’s. This was mainly due to the varietal’s tolerance of coffee berry disease, but it was soon found to perform well and produce very high quality, mainly in Central American coffee lands.

The Java grown at Jardines del Eden is closer in profile to the Typica, but if anything yet more lively, with clear tropical fruit notes.

The clear Geisha florals are backed up by a deep sugary sweetness and complex soft ripe fruit, reminiscent of strawberry candy.

Geisha

The third ‘Ethiopian Long Berry’ varietal in this pack requires almost no introduction. Geisha was isolated by British researchers in the Gesha forest in Ethiopia in the 1930’s, and thereafter studied at research stations in Kenya and Tanzania. It was much later introduced into Panama during an outbreak of leaf rust, due to observed resistance to the disease. The varietal was planted sporadically, blended into lots with other varietals, and mainly forgotten about until the Peterson family cupped some Geisha at their farm Hacienda La Esmeralda in 2004. The varietal, planted at high altitude and processed separately, unveiled its crisp citrus and floral aromatics for the first time, and immediately broke records at that year’s Best of Panama auction.

This lot of Geisha showcases those crisp florals, here softened into violet and rose, alongside intense sweetness and ripe fruit notes, together reminiscent of strawberry candy.

Jardines del Eden

by Felipe Arcila

Jardines El Eden is a project by Cofinet, a coffee producer and exporter located just outside Armenia, in the Quindio region of Colombia. The project in Colombia is led by one of the two brothers that founded Cofinet, Felipe Arcila. We were able to visit Felipe at Jardines del Eden on our trip to Colombia in November 2021, and were left in awe of the farm’s beauty. Perched high on the mountains above the village of Pijao, the cloud cover dropping into the valley below only added to the dramatic scenery on the day of our visit. This is Cofinet’s flagship farm, home to a myriad of exotic varietals such as SL28, Geisha and Java, alongside rare mutations we hadn’t yet seen, such as Striped Bourbon and Chilli Bourbon, a natural mutation of Bourbon with slightly spicy cherries. The volcanic soils and high altitude here lead to excellent raw material, with strong varietal and terroir flavours, perfect to stand up to the strong character added during the fermentation of these coffees.

Technical Data

Producer
Felipe Arcila
Region
Quindio
Altitude
1800 masl
Varietal
Bourbon, Typica, Java & Geisha
Process
Natural
Harvest
October 2021

Natural Process

The natural, or dry process, is the traditional process, going back generations. When accomplished in a controlled and careful manner, dry processed coffees can produce flavour experiences not found in wet processed coffees, deep fruits and florals, normally with heavier mouthfeel and lower acidity. The cherries are first sorted, and then laid out on in thin layers (2-6 cm) on raised drying beds. These are almost always used for high quality naturals, as they aid airflow around the coffee as it dries, enabling more even drying.

It is very important that coffees are sorted very carefully early on in the drying process, as all of the cherries quickly turn dark brown, making it impossible to separate under and overripe cherries. The cherries are turned frequently to avoid mold formation or over-fermentation, until they reach a moisture content of below 20%, and the outer cherry layer shrinks and blackens. This process takes between 2 and 4 weeks, depending on weather conditions.