Colombia Black Honey Carbonic Maceration Koji

We started to produce coffee at the farm El Vergel in Fresno, Tolima. Both of us, Shady and Elias Bayter, have been involved in farming since childhood, following the steps of our parents, who started as avocado growers. Growing up in the countryside created a strong bond between the brothers, farming, and the region where they grew up. In 2012, they ventured into the world of coffee and fell in love with it. Immense dreams around coffee were born. Two years later, they discovered the Specialty Coffee movement, and that's when they found the direction they wanted for El Vergel and also for themselves. In 2016, after several years of researching coffee varieties, appropriate climates, and soils, the Bayter brothers kickstarted a varietal project at Finca El Vergel. The farm has a special microclimate thanks to the proximity to the snow-capped volcano Nevado del Ruiz, on whose slopes El Vergel is located. They decided to plant Java, an exotic variety and quite unusual for Colombia. It turned out that Java is one of the most complex and versatile varieties they have ever encountered!

The process— of using Koji!

I think all the coffees in the world are different due to natural factors, including microclimate, altitude, soil nutrients available, genetics, and many others. But for our farm specifically, we have a big focus on processing, which has helped us to develop unique profiles that are not often seen in the market.

Normally, we have two kinds of days, depending on which part we are in, but normally on the farm, the first thing we do is have a pour-over of the coffees we have been processing over the last few weeks to see how they respond in these methods! Afterwards, we go to the wet mill and start checking all the processes we have running, and take detailed notes of aromas, physical aspects, moisture levels, and days of each batch in each stage. After running through all the processes, we start looking for lots coming to a final step in drying and prepare them to be cupped the next day. If we still have time, we will go and walk different lots of the farm to see and talk with the members of El Vergel and check for things to improve. At the end of the day (5-6 pm), we are back at the wet mill, where we receive the coffee picked for that day and start the process depending on the variety and time of harvest (beginning, middle, or end).

We want to be able to create a better culture of coffee through good processing methods, which are then showcased by roasters with the same focus on quality. At the same time, we want to become pioneers in the coffee industry by having an impact not only on our coffees but also with all the other coffee growers.

I think we have always been passionate about agriculture since we started as babies coming to the farm, but our passion for coffee started when we tried a special cold brew of a Mocca variety in Quindio, and we realized that we had been drinking non-specialty coffee our whole lives.

Yes, definitely.

First of all, we want to thank you for buying our coffee and let you know that by having this cup of coffee or bag of coffee, you are impacting a coffee grower and helping us to keep dreaming big to bring more and more specialty coffees to amazing roasters like Luminous!