Finca Monteblanco: Co-Fermented, Natural Purple Caturra

High in the hills of Vereda La Tocora, above Pitalito in Colombia’s San Adolfo municipality, sits Finca Monteblanco — a family-owned farm managed by Rodrigo Sánchez Valencia. Coffee cultivation here spans generations, with Rodrigo continuing the legacy begun by his grandfather. The 18-hectare farm sits along a ridgeline, with its wet mill and drying beds positioned at the crest, and rows of coffee cascading down the slopes below.

This lot is a Coconut Lemonade Co-fermented Natural, the result of a highly detailed and carefully controlled fermentation process. It begins with the preparation of a bespoke culture, derived from Purple Caturra cherries grown on the farm and rich in microorganisms such as Lactobacillus and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. A portion of this culture is fed with sugar, molasses, citrus fruit, and coconut - the fruit components shaping the final flavour, while the sugars energise the fermentation and align the solution’s Brix with that of the coffee cherries.

After 190 hours, once the culture reaches the ideal Brix and pH levels, it’s ready for use. Freshly harvested cherries are floated to remove defects, then loaded into a sealed 200-litre tank. The 80-litre fruit-fermented culture is added, and the coffee undergoes a 150-hour anaerobic fermentation. Throughout, the team monitors the process to ensure sugar content doesn’t fall below 6° Brix, and pH stays above 4 - a critical threshold for quality.

Drying follows: 2–3 days in full sun, then 15–18 days under canopy, until the coffee reaches 10–11% moisture. The result is an unmistakable signature - a cup shaped by both place and process, with clarity, depth, and tropical lift.

Tasting Notes: Tropical, Coconut, Lemonade

Producer - Rodrigo Sanchez Valencia

What is the roast recency?

We recommend brewing with beans that are at least two weeks off roast. All beans are roasted to peak flavour at around 6-12 weeks. We have the option to either purchase standard beans (at least 2 weeks but no longer than 6 weeks off roast), or rested beans (at least 7 weeks off roast, no longer than 12 - should we have any left in stock!). For peak flavour, if you are looking to use immediately, we recommend purchasing the rested beans. If you are adding to your rotation of beans, we recommend purchasing the standard and allowing the beans to naturally rest and mature whilst you rotate through other beans.