Colombia — Rigoberto & Luis Eduardo Herrera Granja La Esperanza Finca Potosí Java (Natural)

Tastes Like — 🍍 Pineapple • 🍷 Merlot • 🥃 Rum

DETAILS

• Producer: Rigoberto & Luis Eduardo Herrera (Café Granja La Esperanza)
• Farm: Finca Potosí
• Region: Caicedonia, Valle del Cauca, Colombia
• Varietal: Java
• Process: Natural
• Altitude: 1,570–1,850 MASL

INTRO

From Finca Potosí — the historic founding farm of Café Granja La Esperanza and the birthplace of the Herrera family's celebrated specialty coffee story. A naturally processed Java of juicy tropical character, wine-like depth, and a distinctly indulgent rum-toned finish. In the cup: pineapple sweetness, Merlot depth, and rum.

THE PRODUCER

Café Granja La Esperanza is one of Colombia's most recognised and respected specialty enterprises, led by brothers Rigoberto and Luis Eduardo Herrera. The family's story begins at Potosí — where their father Juan Antonio Herrera expanded the farm's original Typica plantings to include Yellow Bourbon, Red Bourbon, and Caturra, establishing the variety-focused philosophy that defines CGLE across all their farms today. Finca Potosí spans 1,570–1,850 MASL in Caicedonia, Valle del Cauca, and is specialised in natural and honey processing with controlled cherry fermentations — the historic and operational heart of an estate that now encompasses farms across multiple Colombian microclimates.

Java is an Arabica variety associated with Ethiopian landrace genetics — named for the island of Java, where it was cultivated extensively during the Dutch colonial era. In specialty coffee, it is valued for its structural acidity, natural sweetness, and clean fruit expression. At Finca Potosí, its inherent structure provides the clean framework that allows the natural process to build its full tropical fruit and wine-like complexity without losing definition or clarity.

THE PROCESS

The Natural process at Finca Potosí involves:

🍒 Hand-picking — Java cherries selectively harvested at peak ripeness 🔒 Controlled cherry fermentation — Whole cherries fermented for 18–50 hours under controlled conditions, 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 Java's fruit character toward the juicy tropical pineapple sweetness, Merlot-like depth, and rum warmth that define this lot, while the variety's inherent structure keeps the cup expressive without losing clarity.

THE CUP

A juicy, fruit-forward, and richly indulgent natural Java from one of Colombia's most storied and precisely managed specialty farms — tropical pineapple sweetness leads into a wine-toned Merlot depth, before a warm, lingering rum finish ties everything together. CGLE's Potosí at its most expressive and enjoyable.

Flavour Notes

🍍 Pineapple 🍷 Merlot 🥃 Rum