Sidra

Our visit to Café Granja La Esperanza in November 2019 only served to increase our appreciation of their incredible drive for quality in coffee. The team at Fincas Potosí and Las Margaritas, both of which lie just outside the town of Caicedonia in northern Valle del Cauca, are constant innovators, incessantly searching for incremental gains in quality through new processes, varietals and farming techniques. This new plot of Sidra is a great example of this, inspired by founder Rigoberto’s trip to Northern Ecuador in 2016. Here he observed Sidra, a varietal gaining popularity on quality-focussed farms in the relatively wealthy northern regions of Ecuador, surrounding the capital of Quito. Originally created on a large Ecuadorian research farm funded by Nestlé, Sidra, or Bourbon Sidra as it is often known, was created by manually crossing Red Bourbon and Typica plants. Unlike many modern hybrids, it was created with the sole aim of creating a high quality cup profile, with both the heavy sweet character of Bourbon, and the florals that Typica is well known for. Nestlé offered this varietal for free to farmers in the region in exchange for feedback, causing a surge in popularity within Ecuador initially, but soon also in neighbouring Colombia. Rigoberto sourced Sidra seeds and oversaw the planting of a nursery in October 2016. These plants were taken to the fields of Potosí in April 2017, and now number almost 4000, spread across a 1.5 hectare plot high on the Potosí ridge. The plant has physical characteristics very similar to Sudan Rume, and produces well in the warm and humid climate of northern Valle del Cauca.

Over the past few years, the quality team at Granja have been building their expectations, experimenting with post-harvest treatments for Sidra, acutely aware of the huge potential of this varietal in their capable hands. After having purchased the first export of the Sidra last year, we are more than excited for its return this year. This lot, like last year’s, was processed using a natural method with Granja’s trademark level of attention to detail. Carefully hand-picked cherries are first fermented in stainless steel fermentation tanks for around 48 hours, with the temperature controlled so it never exceeds 30°C. This allows time for complexity and wild flavour characteristics to build within the coffee before it is sent to mechanical driers for 48 hours, removing much of the moisture from the cherries and almost completely halting fermentation. The cherries are then dried slowly and evenly in solar driers over approximately 2 weeks, until they reach a moisture content of around 11%. This is followed by a resting of at least a month in climate controlled warehouses, allowing moisture content to stabilise and flavours to increase in intensity. During our visit in November 2019 we witnessed the wet mill at Las Margaritas in action, and were very impressed by the systems, control and cleanliness we saw. Heading back to the cupping lab in Caicedonia afterward, we were stunned by the clear floral aromas and juicy ripe flavours of this Sidra, and just knew we had to bring some home to Denmark. After the response to this initial lot last year, we were excited to sample this year’s harvest, and are happy to report that it doesn't disappoint.