Colombia — Karol Ortega Sidra (Dry-Fermented Washed)

Tastes Like — 🌸 Elderflower Syrup • 🍋 Lime Zest • 🍍 Tropical Fruits

DETAILS

• Producer: Karol Ortega
• Farm: Leguizamo-Ortega family farm, San Agustín
• Region: San Agustín, Huila, Colombia
• Varietal: Sidra
• Process: Dry-Fermented Washed
• Altitude: 1,900–2,000 MASL
• Size: 250g

INTRO

Swerl presents Karol Ortega's Sidra — a juicy, complex filter coffee from San Agustín, Huila, sourced through long-term partners Semilla and the Monkaaba project. Sidra is one of Colombia's most coveted varieties: delicate, aromatic, and expressive in the right hands, it rewards meticulous cultivation and careful processing with a cup of rare elegance.

Karol and her husband Diego — son of legendary Cup of Excellence winner Arnulfo Leguizamo — are producing some of the most exciting microlots coming out of this storied corner of Huila. This Sidra lot is a testament to what focused, quality-driven farming at altitude can achieve.

THE PRODUCER

Karol Ortega is not only a producer but a central figure in the Monkaaba initiative — the smallholder-run collective and sourcing arm of Semilla operating in San Agustín. She and Diego joined Monkaaba from the outset, contributing financially to establish the farm-based roasting and cupping lab through which all their lots are selected and evaluated.

Karol's engagement goes well beyond growing coffee. She was among the first community members to work directly in the Monkaaba bodega and lab, initially managing physical sample analysis and inventory before moving into sample roasting — a role that now allows smallholders to taste their own coffees at home for the first time. Her example has inspired six other young producers — including Silvia Ordonez, Karen Burbano, and Jhon Jairo Gomez — to join Monkaaba on a part-time basis.

The Leguizamo-Ortega family has long had specialty access through Diego's father Arnulfo's reputation, but Monkaaba has given them something more valuable: autonomy. Rather than entering each harvest uncertain of what price their coffee would fetch, they now have direct insight into quality, full transparency across the supply chain, and relationships built on trust rather than the word of intermediaries.

THE PROCESS

The Dry-Fermented Washed process at this farm involves:

• 🍒 Selective Harvesting — Cherries collected every three weeks at peak ripeness
• 📅 Pre-Depulp Fermentation — Freshly picked cherries fermented for 12 hours in a wooden hopper before depulping
• 🔧 Depulping — Cherries depulped to remove the fruit skin
• 🧪 Dry Fermentation — Depulped beans left to dry ferment for a further 36 hours
• 💧 Four-Stage Washing — Coffee washed four times in clean water to remove fermentation residue
• 📅 Draining — Left to drain for six hours before being moved to raised beds
• ☀️ Raised Bed Drying — Dried for 18 days on African raised beds

This extended fermentation protocol amplifies Sidra's inherent aromatic complexity, producing a cup with layered floral depth, bright citric acidity, and a juicy, vibrant finish.

THE CUP

Karol Ortega's Sidra is a beautifully layered filter coffee — juicy and complex, with the delicate floral character of elderflower syrup, the brightness of fresh lime zest, and a wave of tropical fruit sweetness that lingers in the finish. At 1,900–2,000 MASL, the altitude amplifies clarity and acidity, letting this rare variety shine in the cup.

Flavour Notes

• 🌸 Elderflower Syrup
• 🍋 Lime Zest
• 🍍 Tropical Fruits