Colombia Blanca Riascos
Cupping Notes: Blackberry, Pomegranate, Cane Sugar
Region: Narino
Process: Honey
Altitude: 2100 m
This lot comes from Blanca Riascos, who comes from a coffee farming family. She
has instilled a love for farming in her children as well- her daugher Edilma Lopez
helps her manage the processes on the farm because Blanca is around 70 years old.
With the help of a few hired pickers on the farm, Blanca and Edilma are careful to
ensure that cherries are picked when they measure between 24 and 28 on a
brixometer (borrowed from a neighbor who has one). Cherries are floated to sort out
over- and under-ripes, and to even out the temperature on the cherries. They’re left
in a bag in a cool, shady area overnight to begin the fermentation process. The next
morning, the coffee is de-pulped leaving a bit of mucilage left on the beans. The
coffee is left to ferment anaerobically in sealed pickle barrels- they measure the pH
throughout, and identify when it’s reached the perfect point. From there, the coffee
is moved to a vertical dryer- it starts on the top “level” where the mucilage can drip
out a bit over 1-2 days, then it’s left for 4-5 days on the second bed level, and then
finally it moves to the lowest level. In total, the coffee dries for about 25 days in this
parabolic dryer system- it’s partially shaded with shade cloth to protect the
parchment from the sun’s harsh rays, and it’s well-ventilated. Because there’s more
moisture left on the beans (from the mucilage), Blanca and Edilma are super careful
to rotate it regularly to make sure that it dries evenly.
#1equals 10: Every bag of coffee helps provide food for a family in need.