The Coffee Quest’s Giraldo Station in Antioquia

Las Perlitas: Throughout the harvest, it’s quite common that small-holders produce lots that aren’t large enough to be exported on their own. However, the quality is often just as good (or better) than samples received from larger lots. As such, we decided to buy all coffees, regardless of size and create a specialty blend based on cup profile, with a quality that would compare to a Micro lot. The result is Las Perlitas or  “The Little Pearls”, various small lots from producers around the Antioquia region, whose farms range in elevation from 1,700 to 2.150 m.a.s.l. and grow quality varieties. Las Perlitas Antioquia aways shows exotic fruit within it’s characteristics.

You might already know that Colombia has a high humid climate which will make it very difficult to produce Naturals or Honey Coffee. The only way to get the same fruity flavours and resemblance of Naturals is to play with fermentation before washing. So, the variation in fruity flavours across the lots will depend on the different attributes that contribute to the fermentation process: such as the environment temperature, the capacity of the farm, and the farmer’s techniques. This is why there is no single answer to drying and fermentation. The hours spent in the tanks and on the drying tables will likely be longer than commercial coffee but will differ per farmer as cultural practices and logistical issues play a role. On average, fermentation in tanks goes around 24-48h (sometimes up to 72h) and drying time around 7-14 days. 

Micro lot: To select the best Micro lots we focus on 86+ lots that have a special characteristic in the cup profile. The Giraldo area offers quite a good range of beautiful acidity due to the high density combination with the longer fermentation times. In some cases we combine the volume from 2 or 3 farmers together to reach a minimum of 10x 35kg bags of exportable green coffee. The combinations are made by taking the cup profile into account, and will carry the name of the largest contributor. This method allows us to provide a steady volume for our Seasonal segment, with interesting cup profiles that variate in between each harvest.

La Sierrita – Type 1 (85 score): In the local network of farmers we see a large amount of producers that reach a consistent 85 point quality. The profile is stable and shows a vibrant acidity in combination with a pleaseant sweet milk chocolate and citric notes. In 2019 onwards, we will expect a larger amount of contributors to this quality, due to the additional time spend with producers during the off-season.

Exotico Altura – Type 2 (84 score): This quality is the most common quality accepted in the Giraldo buying station. The lot provide a less complex, but beautiful clean cup with milk chocolate, good touch of sweetness and creamy afterflavour. This profile is found across Antioquia, but the station is able to provide additional value in consistency. Each individual lot that ends up in the group lot Q2 “Café Giraldo” has been cup and added to the lot based on the determined cup profile. Multifunctional use for both blends and single-origin coffees, 

Antioquia profile – Type 3 (83 score): The cup profile is similar to a good Antioquia Excelso EP, however, similar to Type 2 the quality can be offered with great consistency. Each producer will have the chance to sell this coffee to competing buying stations, but will receive a small bonus on top of the market price at The Coffee Quest’s Giraldo station. The bonus represents our combined efforts in maintaining full traceability and quality control.