Colombia, Monteblanco, Mojito Washed

We're stoked to share this incredibly innovative and delicious Mojito Infused Washed process Colombian coffee with you by way of our friends at Brandywine Coffee Roasters. With notes of citrus and mint, it's the perfect springtime cup. (scroll down to read more about the Mojito fermentation -- it's super cool and takes a lot of time and attention to detail at the farm!)  

In addition to sourcing and roasting with utmost care and intentionality, each bag features a graphic from their in-house designer and is individually screenprinted and wax stamped.

Tasting Notes: Mint, Limeade, Pineapple

• Country: Colombia
• Region: Huila
• Farm: Finca Monteblanco
• Producer: Rodrigo Sanchez Valencia
• Process: Mojito Infused Washed
• Variety: Purple Caturra
• Elevation: 1730 meters 

About the Mojito Processing: This innovative Mojito Infused Washed process begins with the creation of the fermentation culture that will be used. First, a mother culture was created containing microorganisms like lactobacillus and saccharomyces cerevisiae which were derived from Rodrigo’s Purple Caturra coffee cherries. 80 liters of this culture is separated to be fed with sugar, molasses, lemon juice, and a mint infusion. The ingredient mixture contributes flavor to the culture, while the sweetener energizes the fermentation and brings the culture’s sugar content to a level that matches the degrees Brix (measurement of sugar) of the coffee that will be processed. This initial fermentation of the mother culture takes 190 hours (nearly eight days) to reach the appropriate degrees Brix and pH value for coffee processing! 

Before being processed with the fermented culture, coffee cherries are measured for sugar content as soon as they reach the mill at Monteblanco. Cherries are then floated to remove impurities before being pulped and deposited into a 200 liter sealed tank. The 80 liter culture that was previously fermented with the fruits is added to the sealed tank, and the pulped coffee is fermented for 150 hours (6.25 days). During this process, the team keeps measurements to ensure that the environment doesn’t fall below 6 degrees Brix, or below a pH of 4.

The coffee is then moved to the drying area, where it is dried for 2–3 days in direct
sunlight and then for 15–18 days under shaded canopies until it reaches 10–11% humidity.

About Finca Monteblanco:

Finca Monteblanco, located high along the winding mountain roads of Vereda La Tocora in the San Adolfo municipality above Pitalito, is a family farm managed by Rodrigo Sanchez Valencia in the tradition of coffee cultivation that began with his grandfather. Monteblanco’s 18 hectares sit on the crest of a hill, with the wet mill and drying facilities at the top of the farm and slopes of coffee planted below.

Finca Monteblanco produces microlots with each harvest that serve as competition coffees around the world, but the farm also consistently produces containers of delicious coffees that appear year-round on café menus and retail shelves. By applying an ethic of rigorous monitoring, planning, and management at each stage of production and processing, all coffees from Monteblanco showcase their full potential. Harvesting and processing on Monteblanco have had to evolve with the times, adapting to a changing climate that yields harvest times dispersed through ten months of the year rather than in a concentrated peak. Coffees from Monteblanco are milled and prepared for export at the new, state-of-the-art Aromas del Sur drymill in Pitalito.