Purple Caturra
Pineapple Washed
Finca Monteblanco

Tastes Like: Pineapple, Pine Ame, Passionfruit

Origin: Finca Monteblanco, Huila, Colombia

Variety: Purple Caturra

Producer: Rodrigo Sanchez

Elevation: 1730 MASL

Process:  Washed Co-Fermentation with Pineapple

Farm and Producer

Rodrigo Sánchez Valencia manages Finca Monteblanco in Vereda La Tocora, near San Adolfo, Huila. The 18-hectare family farm occupies a hilltop, with the wet mill and drying areas above its planted slopes. Rodrigo began learning to cup in 2002, bringing a new focus to the coffee-growing tradition established by his grandfather.

Variety

Purple Caturra is Monteblanco's name for a Caturra selection whose cherries ripen to a deep purple color. Caturra is a compact mutation of Bourbon. Rodrigo selected this material for its high cherry sugar content and its suitability for the farm's fermentation experiments.

Processing

For Monteblanco's pineapple preparation, a culture of yeasts and lactic acid bacteria is fed with pineapple and sweetener such as panela or molasses. The culture is developed separately before it is added to depulped coffee in sealed tanks.

After fermentation, the coffee is washed and dried in stages, beginning in direct sun and finishing under shade. Pineapple is an ingredient in the fermentation, as well as part of this coffee's tasting profile.