El Vergel, Java - Colombia

The El Vergel Estate farm located at 1,450 masl in the heart of Tolima, Colombia, started life in 1995 as an avocado farm before pivoting to coffee in 2010.

After the success of these first years of cultivation, Shady and Elías Bayter, together with their mother Martha, transformed El Vergel into a laboratory of agricultural innovations that specialised in the cultivation of rare varieties in micro-batches to guarantee quality, traceability and aromatic uniqueness. Among these varieties is Java, which is very rare in Colombia, offering a unique and exotic profile for the country.

For this batch, the Bayter brothers applied a natural carbonic maceration for the first time. This process consists of placing the whole coffee cherries in a pressurized environment at 6 bars with the addition of CO₂, for 96 hours. After fermentation, the cherries are dried for 25 days in the sun, on drying beds.

This anaerobic (oxygen-free) environment promotes the development of specific microorganisms, that breaks down the cascara (the pulp of the fruit), and intensifies the aromatic compounds of the coffee. The result is an explosive profile, with a beautiful sweetness and very fruity.

• Region: Tolima
• Country: Colombia
• Elevation: 1,450 masl
• Variety: Java
• Process: Carbonic maceration