Wilmer Cubillos El Rosal Papayo Extended Fermentation FW

Finca El Rosal sits in El Rosario, Acevedo, Huila, at 1,650 meters above sea level across 10.5 hectares, an altitude that creates the warm days and cool nights that build dense, sweet cherry. Wilmer Cubillos purchased the farm in 2006 and lives there with his wife and youngest son, while his two older children have built their own lives and careers outside the farm. A first-generation coffee farmer, Wilmer's enthusiasm for the craft of cultivating and processing coffee is visible in every aspect of his operation. His goal is straightforward: to produce coffees with differentiated flavors that people can appreciate – and, of course, to earn a price that sustains that quality long-term. 

Wilmer grows a range of varieties at El Rosal, including Tabi, Castillo and the lesser known Papayo, which composes this lot.
  
The Papayo variety is rare outside of Huila and little is known about how it arrived in Colombia. It was originally thought to be a Caturra mutation, but genetic testing by World Coffee Research indicates a close relationship with Ethiopian Landraces. Papayo cherries are distinctive, with an elongated shape. It is assumed that the local name comes from the papaya fruit, which is similarly shaped. 

Wilmer continues to take steps to improve his coffee quality. He purchased a shaker that helps separate parchment and has lined his fermentation tanks with slab plating to ensure that no off-flavors are imbued in the coffee during fermentation. In the future, he plans to improve the quality of his drying facilities and build raised beds for further drying. 

Wilmer selectively handpicks ripe, red cherry and processes it on his farm. Cherry undergoes a first fermentation of 18 hours in jute bags and then is depulped and fermented with mucilage for 6 hours in tanks. After fermentation, coffee is washed and moved to raised beds to dry. The drying area is ventilated to promote airflow for even moisture loss. Cherry is left to sundry for 8 to 15 days, raking it frequently to ensure even drying.