Colombia — Frank Rivas Torres Finca La Indonesia Caturra & Chiroso (Washed)

Tastes Like — 🍑 Sweet Apricot • 🌿 Ginger

DETAILS

• Producer: Frank Rivas Torres
• Farm: Finca La Indonesia
• Region: La Unión, Nariño, Colombia
• Varietal: Caturra & Chiroso
• Process: Washed
• Altitude: 1,750 MASL
• Size: 125g

INTRO

A third year working with the respected Finca La Indonesia — and a curiosity lot combining Caturra and Chiroso, two very different varietals united by careful processing and more than 80 years of family coffee heritage. Sweet apricot and a distinctive ginger note in a clean, well-structured cup. In the cup: sweet apricot and ginger.

THE PRODUCER

Finca La Indonesia is a family estate in La Unión, Nariño — 90km from Pasto — with a coffee history that stretches back over 80 years to when Marco Antonio Torres, Frank's grandfather, became one of the first people to cultivate coffee in the municipality. The estate has been passed down through the family and is now managed by Frank Rivas Torres alongside his siblings Juan Angel, Gabriel, and Yorgeny — all coffee producers in their own right.

Frank is a Q Grader with an unusually wide background: he began his coffee career working in Starbucks' specialty programme before moving into green coffee buying for exporters and importers. That industry experience, combined with a deep personal connection to the land his grandfather cleared, shapes everything he does at La Indonesia — from Brix measurements at harvest through to experimental fermentation protocols and meticulous processing across 90% organic-managed land. The Torres family's work in La Unión has also contributed to a broader community transformation, helping shift the region from an area associated with illicit trade into a thriving specialty coffee community.

THE PROCESS

The Washed process at Finca La Indonesia involves:

🍒 Hand-picking — Caturra and Chiroso cherries selectively harvested at peak ripeness 🔬 Brix measurement — Cherries measured for sugar content to ensure optimal ripeness before processing 💧 Flotation — Sorted via flotation to remove defects 🔧 Depulping — Outer skin removed before fermentation 🔒 Depulped dry anaerobic fermentation — Beans fermented dry in anaerobic conditions on sunbeds 💧 Washing — Thoroughly washed after fermentation ☀️ Raised-bed drying — Dried on raised beds to 10–11% humidity

The depulped dry anaerobic fermentation on sunbeds is the defining step — fermenting without water in a sealed environment after depulping, where the warmth of the sunbed creates a distinctive controlled microclimate that builds the sweet apricot and ginger complexity that define this lot.

THE CUP

A curiosity lot from one of Nariño's most respected and technically accomplished family estates — sweet apricot warmth and a distinctive ginger note in a clean, well-structured cup that rewards the interest of those exploring what La Indonesia can do with two very different varietals in one processing run.

Flavour Notes

🍑 Sweet Apricot 🌿 Ginger