Level 03 COMPETITION

HACHI — KOKORO (心)**

Origin: Colombia
Producer: Diego Bermudez
Process: Natural
Variety: Yellow Catuai
Weight: 250g

Tastes Like — 🌸 Floral • 🍑 Yellow Fruits • 🍬 Candy

INTRO — 心 / Kokoro

Kokoro (心) represents heart, spirit, and emotional essence — a fitting name for one of the most expressive competition lots produced by Diego Bermudez. This coffee showcases the depth and delicacy of Yellow Catuai woven through Diego’s mastery of controlled fermentation. The result is a cup that is bright, aromatic, and joyfully sweet, with a flavor profile that feels both nostalgic and completely futuristic.

This is a coffee crafted with intention — a sensory experience designed to speak directly to the heart.

THE PRODUCER — Diego Bermudez

Diego Bermudez is one of Colombia’s most influential innovators in coffee processing. At Finca El Paraíso, his team has pioneered bioreactors, precision-controlled fermentations, thermal-shock washing, and “flavor architecture” techniques that have reshaped what is possible in coffee.

For this competition lot, Diego applies his meticulous scientific approach to the Yellow Catuai variety — a cultivar known for structure and sweetness — transforming it into something astonishingly floral, juicy, and confectionary.

THE PROCESS — Natural + Controlled Fermentation

Although this is a natural coffee, Diego’s approach is anything but traditional. This lot undergoes:

• Ultra-selective cherry harvesting at peak yellow-stage ripeness

• Floated and hand-sorted for perfect density

• Precision-controlled natural fermentation in sealed tanks, monitored for temperature, pH, sugar content, and microbial activity

• Slow, staged drying to intensify aromatics while preserving a crystalline clarity

The process amplifies the inherent fruit of Yellow Catuai while layering complex florals and candy-like sweetness — hallmarks of Diego’s signature style.

THE CUP — Bright, Floral, Candy-Sweet

Kokoro is playful, elegant, and deeply aromatic. Expect:

• 🌸 High florals reminiscent of spring blossoms

• 🍑 A burst of yellow fruits — peach, golden plum, and fresh apricot

• 🍬 A candy-like sweetness, silky and vivid, evoking hard candy and fruity confections

The cup is clean yet expressive, with a buoyant acidity and a sweetness that glows from start to finish. A competition-level natural that balances Diego’s technical precision with remarkable emotional resonance — a coffee that speaks from the heart.

What is the roast recency?

Native recommend brewing with beans that are at least two to three weeks off roast. All beans are roasted to peak flavour at around 6-9 weeks. We have the option to either purchase standard beans (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.

Filter or Espresso? Both!

All of Native's coffees are profiled to be as fantastic in filter as they are in espresso.