Ilse Coffee - Primary Espresso | Colombia

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Colombia — Olgar Ortega Villa Maria Caturra (Washed)

Tastes Like — 🍫 Drinking Chocolate • 🍬 Nougat • 🍇 Grape

DETAILS

• Producer: Olgar Ortega (Ortega-Gómez Family)
• Farm: Villa Maria
• Region: San Agustín, Huila, Colombia
• Varietal: Caturra
• Process: Washed
• Altitude: 1,700–1,800 MASL
• Harvest: May 2025
• Size: 250g

INTRO

From Olgar Ortega's Villa Maria in San Agustín, Huila — a rich, sweet, and full-bodied washed Caturra from a family with over sixty years of coffee history in the region. This espresso-roasted separation delivers the warm indulgence of drinking chocolate and nougat, with a ripe grape sweetness and a long, molasses-tinged finish.

THE PRODUCER

The Ortega-Gómez family have been producing coffee in San Agustín for over sixty years, cultivating a diverse range of varieties — Sidra, Tabi, Typica, Yellow and Red Caturra, and Castillo — across their five-hectare farm at Villa Maria. Olgar is the father of Esnaider Ortega, founding member of Monkaaba, whose early ambitions sparked the family's entry into specialty coffee. With Esnaider now focused on Monkaaba's operations, Olgar and the rest of the family have taken stewardship of the farm — a deepening of a relationship that ilse coffee are proud to continue.

Caturra, a natural Bourbon mutation first identified in Minas Gerais, Brazil, between 1915 and 1918, has long been a cornerstone of Colombian specialty coffee. At 1,700–1,800 MASL in San Agustín, it produces the rich body and deep sweetness that make it particularly well suited to espresso.

THE PROCESS

The Washed process at Villa Maria involves:

🍒 Hand-picking — Cherries picked at peak ripeness every three weeks 💧 Flotation — Floated to remove defects before processing 🧪 Open tank fermentation — Cherries fermented whole in open tanks for 12 hours 🔧 Depulping — Outer skin removed after the initial fermentation 🧪 Dry fermentation — Depulped beans dry-fermented for 36 hours in a tiled tank 💧 Rinsing — Rinsed three times after fermentation and left to drain for 15 hours ☀️ Raised-bed drying — Dried on raised beds for 20–25 days

The two-stage fermentation — 12 hours in open tanks before depulping, followed by 36 hours of dry fermentation — is the defining step, building the rich, structured sweetness and full body that define this espresso lot while the extended drying period locks in the depth and complexity of the final cup.

THE CUP

A rich, full-bodied, and deeply satisfying espresso from one of Huila's most established coffee families — drinking chocolate warmth, creamy nougat sweetness, and a ripe grape character with a long molasses finish. A coffee that delivers comfort and complexity in equal measure.

Flavour Notes

🍫 Drinking Chocolate 🍬 Nougat 🍇 Grape