SL34
Natural
Cafe Granja La Esperanza

Tastes Like: Black Currant, Umeshu, Granny Smith

Origin: Finca Potosi, Cauca, Colombia

Variety: SL34

Producer:  Rigoberto and Luis Eduardo Herrera

Elevation: 1570-1850 masl

Process: Natural

SL34 is another lesser-known Scott Laboratory selection, with SL28 looming over it as it has become more ubiquitous across central and south America. Both SL28, as well as 34, are tree selections from Kenya. During the mid-1900s, Scott Laboratories selected trees for higher density, as well as increased drought and disease resistance. SL34 is traceable down to the specific tree, where Scott Labs employees selected seeds from one tree labeled “French Mission.” However, further genetic testing illuminated the fact that this variety is more closely related to Typica than Bourbon, highlighting the all too often phenomenon of mislabeled varieties or back ally swapping of seeds in the coffee world… as the Scott Labs varieties have spread all over the world (thanks to some of those back alley deals) industrious coffee producers have taken to planting SL34 in high elevation, such as Granja on their Potosi farm, which coffee is grown at elevations as high as 1800 meters. When this variety is grown at this elevation and processed with the precision that Cafe Granja uses at the mill, the cup profile is all fresh raspberries with bright citric acidity.