China Alta Ibague Tolima Community Lot

China Alta Ibague Tolima Community Lot

Each farm for this lot processed their coffee using the washed method. After the red and ripe cherries are picked by each producer, they are delivered to the mill on site and pulped via machine. Producers in this region are overwhelmingly small-holders, each owning their own small mechanical or hand pulper; located on the family farm. Once pulped, the parchment coffee is next placed in large tanks and fermented for roughly 48 hours, to break down the remaining mucilage. Some producers in the region will add several layers of wet parchment over the course of a few days, which is thought to add complexity to the fermentation process and final cup profile. Finally, once fermented, the coffee is removed and placed on raised parabolic beds to dry, until moisture reaches below 12%. Tolima is blessed with some of the best drying conditions in the country due to the micro-climate and high altitude of the region, providing lower relative humidity, more wind and more sunny days than other areas of the country.