Monteblanco Nectar Citrullus

Tasting Notes: Watermelon | Citrus | Juicy

Buckle up, this is a wild one! This beautiful and limited coffee hails from the Huila region of Colombia, is lovingly produced by Rodrigo Sanchez Valencia with a unique processing we are proud to offer! Finca Monteblanco is a family farm managed by Rodrigo who inherited it from his grandfather. Rodrigo is committed to advancing coffee cultivation and his community. He continues his family's innovation to this day. This Citrullus Nectar Co-fermented 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, and concentrated melon and watermelon juice. 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 of the coffee that will be processed. This initial fermentation of the mother culture takes 190 hours 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. 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.

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Producer: Rodrigo Sanchez Valencia 
Country: Colombia
Region: Huila
Altitude: 1730 meters
Variety: Caturra, Bourbon
Process: Citrullus Nectar Co-fermented Washed
Harvest: June-July, October-November
Importer: Ally Coffee