Ana Mustafá
This lot was grown on farms overseen by LaREB project leader Ana Mustafá. Up until recently, Ana was selling the coffee from her family’s five farms to a pair of local cooperatives in the towns of Pereira and La Celia in the Risaralda region. Pereira is approximately a 7 hour drive from Bogota, a relatively short distance in Colombian terms, but the landscape here is rather different.
Lush green forests drape the rolling hills of this grand old area, with a rich coffee producing history. During the ‘Coffee Bonanza’ of the 60’s and 70’s, high prices allowed many producers to make good money and expand their growing lands. One of these was Ana’s grandfather, a Palestinian immigrant to Colombia, who initially worked as a fabric trader when he arrived in the country in 1930’s. The farm lands were split up amongst the younger members of the family upon his death, leaving Ana the five farms across Risaralda she now oversees along with her cousin; two near La Celia and three near Pereira.
Fed-batch Processing
One of the main ways that Ana has added value to her coffees is through novel fermentation methods. This lot uses the same ‘fed-batch’ method as many lots we have purchased from LaREB in the past, adding complexity and sweetness to the Castillo and Catimor raw material.
The first day’s picking is de-pulped and added to a large fermentation tank, beginning to ferment before the next day’s picking is added. This extra dose of de-pulped coffee is mixed into the tank, adding new fuel for the fermentation in the form of sugary mucilage.
The coffee begins to ferment quite quickly at this point, so depending on conditions, the coffee is only fermented for 1-2 more days before being dried. Very minimal washing is used, keeping the mucilage on the seeds in order to continue influencing the cup during drying.
This all results in a sweet and jammy cup, with notes of stewed raspberry, cocoa and brown sugar in the cup.
