Colombia — Rigoberto Herrera Granja La Esperanza Finca Potosí Mandela (Natural)

Tastes Like — 🍫 Milk Chocolate • 🍒 Cherry • 🍮 Caramel

DETAILS

• Producer: Rigoberto Herrera (Café Granja La Esperanza)
• Farm: Finca Potosí
• Region: Caicedonia, Valle del Cauca, Colombia
• Varietal: Mandela
• Process: Natural
• Score: 88 SCA
• Roast: Filter

INTRO

From Finca Potosí — the founding farm of Café Granja La Esperanza — a naturally processed Mandela of indulgent, intensely fruited character and the signature complexity that has made CGLE one of the most celebrated names in Colombian specialty coffee. In the cup: milk chocolate, cherry, and caramel, with a delicate medium acidity and a long, elegant, harmonious finish.

THE PRODUCER

Café Granja La Esperanza is one of Colombia's most celebrated specialty enterprises, led by brothers Rigoberto and Luis Eduardo Herrera. Founded in 1945 at Finca Potosí in the Valle del Cauca, the estate has grown across four distinct farms — Potosí, Cerro Azul, La Esperanza, and Las Margaritas — each with its own altitude, microclimate, and varietal focus. Finca Potosí spans 52 hectares at 1,400–1,860 MASL and has long been a centre of processing innovation and varietal experimentation within the CGLE portfolio.

The Mandela is one of CGLE's own proprietary variety developments — a hybrid created and named by the Herrera family, selected for its distinctive cup profile and its affinity for natural and honey processing at altitude. Like all CGLE varieties, it is cultivated with the same precision and intentionality that have placed this estate among the most referenced and awarded farms in Colombian coffee.

THE PROCESS

The Natural process at Finca Potosí involves:

🍒 Hand-picking — Mandela cherries selectively harvested at peak ripeness 🔒 Controlled cherry fermentation — Whole cherries fermented under controlled conditions for 18–50 hours, with duration adjusted according to the target cup profile ☀️ Natural drying — Cherries dried whole-fruit after fermentation, allowing sugars and fruit character to integrate fully into the bean

The controlled cherry fermentation is the defining step — by managing duration and conditions with precision, the CGLE team direct the development of the Mandela's fruit character toward the juicy cherry vibrancy, caramel sweetness, and milk chocolate depth that define this lot, while the variety's inherent structure keeps the cup balanced and refined throughout.

THE CUP

A complex, refined, and indulgently fruited natural Mandela from one of Colombia's most storied and consistently awarded family estates — a delicate, medium acidity and caramel sweetness up front, enveloping cherry juiciness through the mid-palate, and a long, rounded milk chocolate finish that is unmistakably CGLE. Signature complexity in every sip.

Flavour Notes

🍫 Milk Chocolate 🍒 Cherry 🍮 Caramel