Freak & Unique XXI - Colombia, Monte Blanco

FARM : Campo Hermoso
REGION : Palestina, Huila
ALTITUDE  : 1750 MASL
VARIETAL  : Bourbon, Caturra
PROCESS  : 190 hour Citrullus Nectar Coferment
FLAVOUR NOTES : Watermelon, Stewed Peach, Fruit Salad

This lot is processed using an extended fermentation method incorporating citrillus fruit nectar, including watermelon and melon, alongside lactobacillus and saccharomyces cerevisiae (brewer’s yeast). The process is designed to enhance natural sweetness and elevate Brix levels, resulting in a complex and expressive cup profile.

Cherries ferment for 190 hours before being depulped, thoroughly washed and dried on parabolic beds for 10–15 days. Grown in Palestina, southern Huila, this coffee benefits from a distinctive microclimate within one of Colombia’s most dynamic producing regions. Palestina sits within the country’s newer coffee-growing axis, where elevation, climate and soil conditions support a wide range of varieties including Pink Bourbon, Java, Chiroso, Gesha, Caturra, Colombia and Castillo. This diversity reflects both the region’s potential and the expertise of its growers, who manage each stage of production with precision to maintain quality and consistency.

Coffee cultivation in Colombia is believed to have been introduced by priests in the early 17th century, initially as a small-scale crop for local use and trade. A well-known story credits Father Francisco Romero, who in the early 1800s assigned coffee planting as penance to parishioners, helping establish the foundations of Colombia’s globally recognised coffee industry.