Reserve Series 04: Jhoan Vergara

FINAL ROAST DATE: TUESDAY 5/27

This is release number 4 in our Reserve Series. We select the coffees for the Reserve Series by using a few criteria; availability, quality and cost. These coffees are small-scale, high end and usually sit at a slightly higher price point than our usual offering. The roasts are clean and expressive that shine as a filter coffee. If you're into light and bright espresso then you'll have a good time with these as well.

Release #4 comes from Jhoan Vergara. He is a relatively young producer based in San Isidro, Colombia who has taken a particular interest in the micro-organisms found in coffee. At 15 years old, Jhoan left high school in Pitalito and decided to focus on his family farm, Las Flores. He went on to study at SENA - the Service Nacional de Aprendizaje - where coffee producers learn agronomy, cupping, roasting, and basic brewing skills.

Up until 2008, Las Flores grew the Caturra variety exclusively. Unfortunately they were struck hard by Coffee Roya (Coffee Leaf Rust) and they had to look to disease resistant, higher yielding varieties to recover.

These days, Jhoan works with a microbiology lab in Pitalito, separating microorganisms from each variety of coffee cherry to reproduce them. Jhoan takes these microorganisms and reapplies them to the coffee mass during fermentation to encourage their growth and focus in on particular flavors that are naturally occurring in the fruit.

The result is a hyper-focused and incredibly clean cup that showcases bright tropical fruits and intense floral qualities.

For those processing nerds out there we thought we would share exactly what goes on with this coffee before it is prepared for export but be prepared because it’s pretty involved!

First, cherries are picked, and left in an open weave bag (tulas) for an initial cherry ferment (or oxidation process) - the mass gets hotter during this process, and cherries are left for 24-48 hours depending on the weather and the brix. From there, the cherries are floated to homogenize the temperature again, and then de-pulped, fermenting them in sealed plastic bags. Jhoan adds the microorganisms into the coffee at this phase. Finally, he washes the coffee with hot water - a ‘thermal shock’ of sorts - which Jhoan says can lend more intensity to the cup profile, boosting it 1-2 points higher. From there, Jhoan takes the coffee down to a dehumidifying machine that his friends Adrian and Nestor Lasso manage down in Bruselas, Huila to dry it out and prepare it for export.

This coffee blew us away on the cupping table. If you are lucky enough to secure a bag and brew it at home you will notice clean passionfruit, candy-like watermelon and sweet citrus notes like mandarin.

Producer → Jhoan Vergara
Farm → Las Flores
Location → Acevedo, Huila, Colombia
Altitude → 1,650 masl
Varieties → Bourbon Aji
Process → Washed (Thermal Shock)

ALL ORDERS WILL BE ROASTED AND SHIPPED ON TUESDAY 5/27