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Day 22 - PLANADAS - TOLIMA

El Parche Coffee Roasters

Planadas municipality is located in the Tolima department. Its weather conditions make it an ideal area to grow high-quality coffee. 95% of coffees are grown in low temperatures which produces a higher sugar concentration during the ripening process, resulting in a sweeter and more complex cup profile.

Most of the population are ex-combatants from armed groups. What is remarkable is that after the peace agreement was signed, they started to work with coffee with some associations. Both ASOPEP and ASCISP are a great example of such associations. ASOPEP works with 167 farmers and ASCISP is formed by 66 coffee families.

We are honored to work with these associations since they have different projects that focus on the improvement of the coffee community and biodiversity.

Fazenda California Double Fermentation Peaberry

Many years ago, Luiz Saldanha was on a coffee trip in Nicaragua when he met a producer who had just placed second in the Cup of Excellence. Cupping the coffee, he was amazed at the intensity of flavour and cleanliness of the cup. When Luiz quizzed the producer about the processing, it turned out that he had taken his cherries to the mill for pulping, but when he got there he found out there was no power. He decided to leave the cherries overnight in the fermentation tanks fully submerged in cold water, then pulped the cherries in the morning when the power came back on.

This inspired Luiz to start experimenting with a similar technique on his farm. After many trials and tweaks, the 'double fermentation' process was born. In this process, only the ripest cherries are taken to the wet mill where they are left to soak overnight in 8 degree spring water. The cold water slows the initial fermentation process, and allows Luiz to manipulate the metabolic processes the coffee undergoes to create the desired acids and esters. After 12-18 hours of soaking, the cherries are pulped, washed and very slowly dried on raised beds under UV covers, ensuring uniform drying throughout the bean mass and the beans themselves. The result is an incredible stable and consistent product with notes of intense red fruits, grape and a viscous creamy body.

About This Roaster

El Parche is an independent speciality coffee small batch roastery. Founded in Melbourne with roots in Colombia, the home of coffee.

We specialise in South and Central American coffees, sourcing the best and most sustainable beans. We pride ourselves in ensuring we are giving the farmers and producers a fair deal, paying what they are worth.

Being Colombian gives us an advantage but also a responsibility to ensure our farmers are receiving adequate compensation for their product, and thus able to support their families and continue to produce excellent coffee with sustainable processes.