Colombia - La Chiquita - Orange Co-ferment 8oz
Celebrating a decade of roasting magic, we're reviving the very first co-ferment that started it all back in 2020—a delicious accident born from pandemic shipping chaos! This Colombian gem from La Chiquita arrived unexpectedly and immediately captured our hearts with its bold, fruity character. Co-ferments have since become our creative playground, and watching them revolutionize and inspire the coffee world has been pure joy. This limited release honors the wild experimentation, passionate conversations, and innovative spirit that define what we see as the future of coffee art. Here's to ten years of caffeinated artistry and to you—our incredible community who makes these coffee dreams possible. Cheers to the next chapter!
We Taste: Orange, Clementine, Fresh
Process: Orange Coferment
Varietal: Colombia
MASL: 1500
This Orange Washed process is the successful result of Diego’s experiments in
coffee processing and research into the chemistry of the coffee seed This lot of Colombia variety coffee underwent an Orange Washed process at La Chiquita. Coffee cherries were first harvested at their optimal maturity to ensure sweetness.
About the Farmer and Farm:
La Chiquita coffee farm is located in Chinchina, Cladas, Colombia. Only five hectares
total, La Chiquita (meaning "The Petite" or "The Little One" in Spanish) uses two
hectares to farm Tabi variety coffee, while the remaining three hectares act as a
family resort with a swimming pool, BBQ area, and a beautiful limestone mansion
full of guest rooms. Diego and his sister Ana Maria bought the farm in 2003, but it
wasn't until 2013 that Diego moved back to Colombia from Barcelona. While living in
Spain, Diego studied and worked for 20 years as a business administrator in the
tourism industry. He spent time travelling across Europe, finding that he was inspired
by wine production. He took courses and participated in wine tastings, ultimately
deciding to move back to his motherland and to dedicate himself to small-batch
wine production.
However, when Diego returned to Colombia he found that wine production was
limited to only elite producers. The industry was under-developed due to lack of
infrastructure, equipment, and knowledge. Very few vineyards exist in Colombia,
restricted primarily to the department of Boyacá, where only specific grape varieties
can yield a crop. Encouraged by the potential opportunity this presented, Diego
started looking into other crops that could be turned into wine. This led him to
experiment with fruit fermentations, distillation, and cask aging. Once he landed on
coffee as the crop to which he would dedicate himself, Diego has since remained
committed to creating coffee with gentle, naturally-created distillation notes like
those you would find in wine, rum, brandy, or whiskey.
It took around three years of research, coffee tasting, and developing skills as a coffee
cupper before Diego finally found the right practice for the Tabi variety that grew on
La Chiquita. Tabi is a coffee cultivar that was released by Cenicafé in 2002. It was
developed by crossing Bourbon, Typica, and Timor coffees, and offers the positive
cup characteristics of Bourbon and Typica while having greater resistance to la roya
coffee leaf rust. He produces small batches of 250 kg each, with lots of care put into
every stage of production. The cherries are exclusively picked and sorted by women
from the village of Palestina, 30 minutes away from La Chiquita, who travel here to
receive better payment for their work.
