Rodrigo Sanchez La Loma Washed Carbonic maceration Caturra

Rodrigo Sánchez purchased Finca La Loma in 2011. Since then, he’s been hard at work doing research on processes and varieties on the farm and he’s spent his years wisely. In 2017, coffees displaying the unique varieties and processes used at Finca La Loma won first place in the Yara Championship, a quality competition. He placed second the following year with another lot from the farm. In 2019, Rodrigo participated in the Roasters United competition and two of his coffees placed first and third.

Rodrigo’s passion for research made this lot possible. It began in 2016 when he drew inspiration from wine making, where he saw that grapes fermented in cooler environments had more desirable floral and fruity notes. He began his experiments by freezing pulped coffee. The freezer halted fermentation entirely and killed the embryo, so the coffee aged very quickly. However, Rodrigo didn’t give up because he noticed that the profile had an inkling of the desirable fruity and floral notes and he knew he was on the right track. Rodrigo continued experimenting with different temperatures and also expanded the scope of his project to include Brix degrees (sugar content) and different coffee varieties until he found exactly the right combination.  

Cherry is selectively handpicked and processed on the farm. Workers are trained to pick cherry at 25 Brix degrees or higher. Following cherry picking and floating is a 70-hour CO₂ injection fermentation in cherry to enhance body and fruity notes. After pulping, the beans undergo an additional fermentation with fruit juice and selected microorganisms for 70-94 hours. This entire 140-188 hour fermentation process is completed with a drying phase of 18-22 days, resulting in a bright, sweet coffee with enhanced acidity and a complex flavor profile.