FLAVOUR NOTES : Jammy sweetness, full body, winey acidity, clean. plum, apple, blueberry, cherry, honey, papaya, pineapple, tropical fruit

We Welcome a wonderful unique varietal called Parainema. This is a natural SHG microlot from ‘El Plan’ in the village of Las Flores, Santa Barbara.

THE PROCESS

The natural (dry, unwashed) process is one of the oldest methods of producing coffee. It involves drying the whole cherry, in the sun, on tables or in thin layers on patios.The cherries are raked or turned by hand to prevent mildew during the drying process, which can take up to 4 weeks.Once the cherries have been dried to the correct amount, the pulp is removed with a hulling machine before the coffee beans are packed.The coffee from natural processed beans can tend to have more body and complexity with less acidity than with the ‘washed’ or wet process.

THE REGION

The coffee comes from the village Las Flores in the mountains of Santa Barbara, a massif 121.3 km2 long and with a maximum height of 2750 masl. The region is mostly a virgin forest reserve which was declared a national park in 1987. Most of the native people of the area began to grow coffee in the 1940s, mainly in the lower areas, although it was always a secondary crop. From the 1970s, coffee became the primary crop in the area, promoted by the rise in prices at that time, with Bourbon being the most widespread variety. Since then coffee has become the basis of the local economy as well as an important cultural element.

The wider Montecillos region is notable for its high altitude and subsequently cool temperatures, which allow coffee cherries to mature slowly and develop increased complexity in the cup.