Colombia Calderas SCA 85.25

Country: Colombia
Region: Inza, Various Small Holders
Altitude: 1800 - 1900 masl
Varieties: Typica, Caturra, Colombia & Tabi
Process: Washed
Flavour Profile: Blackcurrant, Peach, Dark Chocolate Eclair.

The Municipality of Inza in Cauca sits high on a Colombian plateau called the 'Macizo Colombiano'. This area is perfect for growing specialty coffee as altitudes reach over 2000 masl. Inzá is mostly known for its indigenous history and coffee. Its history goes back to 1577 where a Spaniard, Sancho García de Espino, established camp where Inzá is today. In 1737 the Jesuits built a church and since that moment the whole town started growing into streets and houses; being recognised by the Colombian government as a municipality in 1907.

The municipality has around 30,000 inhabitants many of which are coffee growers working on less than 1ha in size. The traditional varieties in this area are Tabi, Castillo, Colombia and Caturra.

This coffee comes from the Calderas indigenous reserve area where during the harvest they pick ripe cherry throughout the harvest with their families on the small plots of land. Each farm is about 2ha in size with on average about 0.9ha planted with coffee. This group consists of 80 producers in total.

Once picked the coffee is then pulped and then left to ferment over night for 12 - 18 hours. The coffee is then floated and to remove immatures and then taken to either parabolic tents or dried on roof patios. The coffee dries for 8 - 14 days weather depending.
From here the samples are then sent to our partner company Siruma based in Manizales. The samples were assessed and tested for their physical specifications and cup quality. The coffees were then identified as a micro lot or to be added as part of a Calderas blend. The micro lots received a premium for their better cup scores.
These coffees come from the second half of the harvest and were delivered in late June and July by the producers of this group.