Icarus - Thermal Shock Colombia

Nestor and Adrian are two young people who represent the new generation of coffee producers in Colombia. They are risky, innovative, and they are in an endless pursuit to develop thought provoking flavor profiles that are truly one of a kind. Today, at 27 and 28, the two brothers have teamed up to run the family farm Finca El Diviso. Nestor’s coffees as of recent have developed a cult following among the hardest of hardcore connoisseurs and competitors in the industry. Nestor’s coffees have gained global acclaim by leaving their mark on the world stage which began in 2022 when his anaerobic natural Sidra was used to win the World Barista Championship. Each year forward Nestors coffees have been a regular fixture in the completion circuit as a consistent championship finalist.

Néstor at the ripe age of 28 years old, is in charge of Finca El Diviso. Once finishing high school he decided to start working directly alongside his father on the farm. He had two uncompromising rules if permanently pursuing a life in coffee: 1. he would not be willing to compromise on quality and 2. to do things in a radically different way than what was traditionally accepted in Colombia. He realized that in order to create better opportunities in coffee, he could not continue down the same old path of coffee farming and continue doing the things the old way. He had to pave a new path, so he convinced his father to plant other varieties and to start producing high-quality coffees since he saw the great potential in the specialty market. In Colombia there is a program that Nestor and his brother Adrian had attended funded by the Colombian government and today this program is recognized as one of the most renowned coffee growing institutions in Latin America, called SENA. Some of the most valuable lessons and knowledge was gained at SENA, by Nestor and Andrian. All the fundamental aspects and basics of coffee cultivation to the intricacies and science behind coffee processing were absorbed while attending the institute. In 2016, Nestor earned his technical gegree in Specialty Coffee Processing from SENA.

This is a unique process when it comes to hybrid washed coffees or maybe better identified as a double anaerobic washed coffee. Basically the post harvest fermentation is started off as a double anaerobic natural and finished as a washed coffee. The process begins with a collection of ripe Pink Bourbon cherries. The cherries collected comprise of 90% ripe cherries and 10% pink with an average of 23 Brix degrees.

Initial fermentation, the cherries are collected for oxidation for 48 hours at an average room temperature of 25°C. The next step, the cherries undergo an anaerobic fermentation in sealed fermentation barrels for 20 hours at an average temperature of 16 - 18°C. Following this phase, the coffee is transferred to separate oxidation tanks to sit for 28 hours where the coffee will reach temperatures of 36°C. Following the oxidation phase, the coffee once again will undergo a second anaerobic phase but this time with added microbial mossto that was collected from the leached cherries from the previous anaerobic fermentation cycle for 18 hours and will be controlled to ferment at 16 - 20°C.

Following the second anaerobic phase, the cherry is depulped removing the bean from the fruit and soaked in tanks with mossto for 18 hours in 45°C water. Following the soaking, the coffee goes directly to canopy covered solar drying beds for 18 - 24 days. It is routinely raked and rotated to assure even exposure and drying. The final phase of drying, the coffee is placed in sealed grainpro bags for an additional 15 days. Solar dryers are an alternative form of sun drying that combines the best of both worlds when it comes to drying. It provides solar energy to dry the coffee while protecting coffees from any direct sunlight or elements brought on by wet weather, especially trying to dry coffee during La Niña. Greenhouse dryers differ from sun drying methods such as patio and raised bed in that they induce a greenhouse effect by trapping air internally and warming it by solar radiation.

Pink Bourbon orginally was thought to be a genetic mutation of Bourbon due to its unique pink fruit. Well, recent studies have challenged that notion and Pink Bourbon may actually not even be part of the Bourbon variety at all. Genetic tests have revealed that Pink Bourbon may actually be nothing more than just a name. According to analyses on two occasions (2017 by DNA Analytica and 2023 by RD2 Vision), Pink Bourbon has no relation to the Bourbon variety, much less is it a rare cross or mutation of one or more Bourbons. It is also is not a new hybrid. In summary: the studies identify with a very high level of confidence that Pink Bourbon actually is an Ethiopian landrace and that it is distinct from other Ethiopian landraces. An excerpt from the study stated that the Pink Bourbon mystery deepened when examining examples of Casiopea, Evaluna, Mundo Maya, Naayarita, Starmaya, etc. Each of these coffees are hybrids that include genetics from Ethiopian stock. While Pink Bourbon is not a hybrid, it very well could have been brought to Colombia to be the parent of one and to enrich the local pool of genetic resources. In 2023, with pretty big advances in genetic testing, studies continued by testing five samples from different regions of Colombia and Costa Rica: four Pink Bourbon samples and one Orange Bourbon sample. Test samples were sent to RD2 Vision for analysis. All five samples were identified as Pink Bourbon and were confirmed to have “no relation to Bourbon, and concluded they are indigenous to Ethiopia.”

Everything changed when they started selling the coffee directly to roasters and importers around the world, gaining access to a fair and sustainable trade chain that recognized quality. Stepping off the roller coaster opened up the opportunity for them to help thousands of small coffee farmers do the same. Today Pergamino works with more than 600 producers of high-quality coffees in different regions of the country. Pergamino is committed to transparency in their partnerships with these farmers, ensuring that profit margins are clear and value added by quality goes directly to the producer. The premiums we pay for our coffees range from 30% – 300% over market prices, depending on the quality and volume of the coffee. They also support the farmers with technical assistance so that they can continue to improve crop quality. The goal is for farmers and their families to see coffee cultivation as a profitable, decent business, and not just a way to survive.

The average age of the Colombian coffee farmer is 55 years old — if we do not make it profitable and worthwhile for the next generations of growers to stay on their farms, we will lose this great tradition in one or two generations