Colombia - Finca Julia Anaerobic

Specialty coffee production at the family-owned and operated farm and processing center, Finca La Julia in Trujillo, Valle De Cauca, started in 2015 with the initial cultivation of the Java variety and soon after, Tabi and Geisha.

It is led by 2nd generation coffee growers, siblings Nicolas Ocampo Maya, who is hands-on at the farm as the head of operations and finance, and Karo Ocampo Maya, at the helm of strategy and communications. They re-established Finca La Julia to honor their father, the late Octavio, who was the first in their family to enter the world of coffee in the 1990s, with their mother, Angela.

It was when tragedy struck, with Octavio suddenly passing away in 2002, that Niko truly began his journey as a coffee producer. Karo, who had then been based abroad, was compelled to move back to Colombia. Both took on the responsibility of expediently deepening their knowledge of coffee production and taking the reins of the family business, all the while consulting with their mother, Angela,

They were then in their early 20s, simultaneously learning about coffee and running the farm.

The wide array of varieties planted at the farm which have come to include traditional ones like Caturra, and hybrids Colombia and Castillo, thrive alongside native fruit trees that bear tropical fruits like guava, papaya, guanabana, and avocado, as well as citruses like orange, mandarin, and lemon.

In 2006, they earned the Rainforest Alliance Certification, a testament to their earnest desire and commitment to preserve and protect the biodiversity of the natural environment cradling Finca La Julia while producing distinctive coffees. By striving to produce fine coffees with the best possible cup quality out of the diverse varieties they cultivate and innovative processing methods they implement, they wish for specialty coffee lovers to be able to indulge their senses and share their enjoyment with others while remembering to take care of nature.

The Castillo variety is a hybrid introduced by Colombia’s national coffee research institute, Cenicafe, in 2005 to mitigate the risk of debilitating productivity declines in the event of a coffee disease epidemic. It was developed as an improvement from the earlier released cultivars Colombia/F6 (circa 1982) and Tabi (Circa 2002) in terms of resilience, productivity, and cup quality. Generally, Castillo had been observed to cup as dominantly chocolatey and cherry-like with touches of citrus.

Initially, there was skepticism regarding Castillo's cup quality compared to older varieties like Caturra. However, socially conscious and innovative producers conducted post-harvest processing experiments to demonstrate that the resilience and productivity of Castillo could coexist with good to exceptional cup quality.

The success of these experiments opened numerous avenues for creating diverse and unique flavor profiles, providing opportunities for farmers to receive better recognition and rewards for their hard work.

For this lot, only ripe cherries with sugar levels between 24 to 30 on the Brix scale were included in post-harvest processing. To achieve this, cherries were carefully selected and hand-collected by seasoned pickers. Once the cherries reached the processing center, they underwent flotation to ensure the dense cherries could be isolated and proceed to an additional sorting step on raised beds to remove unripe, underripe, and overripe cherries, before entering the dual-phased fermentation stage.

Phase 1 involved putting the cherries in uncovered tanks within a shaded environment for 48 hours.
Phase 2 involved sealing the tanks and allowing the fermentation to continue for another six days.

The anaerobic phase facilitates the possibility to introduce flavors and aromas, like more aromatic and intensified fruit notes, which are considered uncommon, in cups of Castillo, as well as a more pleasing mouthfeel and body.

At the end of fermentation, the cherries underwent a triple-phased drying protocol. First, they were laid out to drain on raised beds for three days, followed by another three to four days in a closely controlled mechanical drier). and then finally they were taken to the farm’s sun-drying station. In this third and last phase of drying, airflow and shade were controlled while temperature was maintained within 30-38°. The total drying duration would take between 20-25 days.

As a result, this lot expresses a complex and intense yet harmonious quality, with ripe fruit sweetness and distinct tropicality enriched by chocolate undertones.