Café Granja La Esperanza
This month’s subscription has been in the works for some time, one we’ve been looking forward to sharing since the incredible response to last year’s iteration. We’ve been working with Café Granja La Esperanza for many years now, eagerly anticipating their first samples each harvest season.
This year, we’re sharing our highlights from Café Granja’s selection, coffees that have become a beloved part of our lineup over many years.
The raw material that forms the base of this month’s subscription requires almost no introduction to long term followers of La Cabra and Café Granja. The Potosí, Cerro Azul, and Las Margaritas farms produce consistently excellent lots, of several different varietals and processes, each produced with Cafe Granjá’s trademark level of attention to detail. The lots we purchase each year from these farms have become firm favourites, with familiar flavour profiles that continue to impress us with their distinct and delicious character.
This month, you will receive an ‘XO’ process San Juan varietal from Potosí, a natural Sudan Rume from Las Margaritas, and a washed Geisha from Cerro Azul. These coffees are the archetypes we keep coming back to, those that form the cornerstone of our relationship with Café Granja. We are proud of our continuing collaboration, and of the consistently excellent coffees we are able to share as a result.
Café Granja La Esperanza
We’ve been working with Café Granja La Esperanza for many years now; we are proud of our continuing collaboration, and of the consistently excellent coffees we are able to share as a result.
The Herrera family purchased Finca Potosí in 1945 and planted several varieties that were unusual for Colombia at the time, including yellow and red Bourbon. This started the Granja tradition of experimentation, leading to some recognition by other farmers in the Cauca Valley. The large family of 14 children did much of the work on the farm themselves, but two brothers took particular interest in coffee production, and in the late 1990’s, Rigoberto and Luis took over the family business and started the push towards what Granja is now.
They purchased small farms to add to their portfolio, and began the process of converting all of their coffee growing to use organic farming practices. They also looked outside Colombia for further insight, and jumped at the opportunity to lease a small farm in Panama. Rigoberto moved, and his years of producing experience led to a lot of their Geisha winning the Best of Panama within 2 years. When Rigoberto returned to Granja, he brought back not only experience, but Panamanian Geisha seeds.
These seeds were the foundation for the next stage of growth, beginning to chase distinct flavour profiles and the super high end specialty market. The experience of bringing a Panamanian varietal to Colombia was pivotal to Granja in their endeavour to adapt more exotic varietals to the Colombian soil, showcasing a wide view of the Cauca Valley terroir.
This year, we’re sharing our highlights from Café Granja’s selection, coffees that have become a beloved part of our lineup over many years.
Potosí Natural XO
Finca Potosí is the original Granja farm, and one that we have come to hold dear over the years. We have visited the beautiful valley that forms the Las Margaritas and Potosí farms several times, and the natural XO lot from Potosí has become a stalwart in the La Cabra line-up.
For this process, CGLE have used a very long in-cherry fermentation of around 40 hours in open temperature-controlled tanks. After the fermentation, the cherries are transferred to drying silos for a slow and controlled mechanical drying, making a full natural process possible in this humid and damp climate. Their meticulous production process has resulted in a coffee that creates a balance between primary terroir flavours, and secondary process-driven flavours. In this cup, this means fresh and bright acidity from the high altitude Cauca Valley terroir, combined with soft ripe fruit and a heavy rich sweetness, like we’d expect from a great natural.
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Sudan Rume
This is the eighth year we have purchased Sudan Rume grown on Cafe Granja La Esperanza’s Las Margaritas farm. Always stunning us with its strong varietal characteristics, we once again look forward to the distinctive aromatic character. The Sudan Rume varietal has been lauded for its cup quality, partly down to competition success. The varietal originates from modern day South Sudan, in what is now the Boma National Park, just across the border from Ethiopia, inside the small area where Arabica coffee still grows completely wild. Sudan Rume is an heirloom or ‘wild’ varietal, mainly used as a stock of high quality genes for new hybrid varietals.
In this natural lot, the Sudan Rume is showcasing all of its traditional characteristics, with the distinctive aromas of ginger and lemongrass followed by a rich experience of peach and tropical fruits in the cup, driven by the careful fermentation.
Cerro Azul
This is the tenth year we have purchased the revered Cerro Azul Geisha, the coffee that our baristas Sonja Zweidick, Dane Oliver and most recently Victor Kristensen have taken to the world stage, in both Barista and Brewer’s competitions. Cafe Granja are intimately familiar with the care and attention the Geisha plant needs, they were one of the first to bring it to Colombia, having previously owned a farm in Panama, the adopted home of this lauded varietal.
Clean acidity, intense and distinct flavours, and some of the most incredible aromatics we have come across in coffee. The cool breeze from the Pacific combined with the very high altitude mean that the trees have to fight low average temperatures and large day-night swings in temperatures to survive, concentrating energy into their cherries as sugar. This leads to a high level of both sweetness and intensity of flavour in the final cup. This is the quintessential Cerro Azul Geisha, with crisp white floral and citrus aromas followed by a dense sugary sweetness, crisp peach and white tea in the cup.
Victor's V60 Brewing Guide
Our barista Victor Kristensen brewed Cerro Azul at the World Brewer’s Cup in 2019 and 2020. He used the V60, with a 4 pour recipe and a coarse grind in combination with a high temperature to accentuate the coffee’s fruit character.
DATA
15g coffee, medium coarse grind
250 grams of water 30-50 PPM 96C
METHOD
0:00 Pour the bloom 60g
0:45 Pour up to 125g
1:30 Pour up to 190g
2:15 Pour up to 250g
Total brew time should be 3:30
Café Granja La Esperanza
This month’s subscription has been in the works for some time, and the lots we purchased from the Granja team are delivering excellent quality in the cup, as we have come to expect. We are proud of our continuing collaboration with this talented group of people, and to have the opportunity to share their excellent coffees each year. We hope you enjoy the fruits of this long relationship this month.