Columbia LA PALMA & TUCAN Red Wine treatment / anaerobic fermentation

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Variety: Castillo

Processing: red wine treatment / anaerobic fermentation

Sensory information

Score: 87

Delicate, bergamot, lemon, melon, sweet.

About the LA PALMA and EL TUCAN projects: we are the best coffee growers and processing experts in Colombia, located in the unique microclimate of Colombia's eastern Andes.

We have set up our project in a beautiful area of Kundinamaka province, which is known for its long coffee growing tradition and is ideal for producing high-growth specialty coffee.

We are changing the way coffee is grown, processed and sold in Colombia, where productivity comes from quality.

Pick coffee. At LA PALMA and EL TUCAN, this process is probably the most important of all stages of our quality assurance. The more mature the cherry, the higher the sugar content (pectin, cellulose, polysaccharides and other types of carbohydrates), which means more microbial food during fermentation, which makes the fermentation more complex, and we believe in sweeter and more complex flavors. In order to ensure that only the best coffee fruits enter our wet mill, we have trained our own cherry picking team to adopt a special cherry selection to encourage quality rather than quantity.

We use the existing microbes present in coffee cherries and the different surfaces that coffee touches throughout the fermentation process. Different microorganisms such as bacteria, molds and yeast interact during fermentation to break down carbohydrates and convert sugars into alcohol. For example, acid lactic acid bacteria separate lactic acid during growth, but proliferate in hypoxia and are very vulnerable to sharp changes in temperature and PH levels, which may easily kill them.

This is why our team strives to continuously measure and record at least the following variables during each fermentation process: temperature, relative humidity, oxygen levels (using aerobic or anaerobic tanks), sugars present in mucus (using refractometers) and PH levels.

Acetic acid fermentation (aerobic). Through this process, our team tried to produce higher concentrations of acetic acid through different types and concentrations of yeast and acetic acid bacteria during fermentation. The goal is to develop acetic acid levels to achieve more "complex", ideal flavors; full-bodied wines and citric acids, as well as sweet and fruity, similar to yellow stone fruits.

Lactic acid fermentation (anaerobic). Through this process, our team tried to focus on anaerobic methods to obtain higher concentrations of lactic acid bacteria during coffee fermentation. Due to the fermentation of mucus carbohydrates, this type of bacteria produces lactic acid, which in turn contributes to the sensory characteristics of the resulting cup. The expected shape is full-bodied, very sweet, chocolate and buttered coffee, with wine acidity and a velvety body due to the high lactic acid content in the cup.

Mixed fermentation (aerobic + anaerobic). Through this process, our team tried to combine acetic acid and lactic acid fermentation by inducing the production of lactic acid and acetic acid. By controlling the anaerobic and aerobic processes, we tend to produce lactic acid bacteria as well as acetic acid bacteria, allowing for highly complex cups. The unique sweetness of red berries is paired with a velvety body, wine acidity and pleasant lingering aftertaste, resulting in high levels of acetic acid and lactic acid.