La Isabela Papayo CM 240h

The Papayo varietal, named after its similarity to the papaya fruit, has genetic similarities to many Ethiopian varietals, and is also rumored to be the same varietal as, or a close cousin to the Ombligon, another exciting varietal that has shown up in competitions during recent years. Not only is the story and flavors of the varietal interesting, but the process it has undergone has added extra depth and complexity to the cup. It’s a fun and fantastic coffee with fruity and tart notes that really stands out.

The process used for this coffee is carbonic maceration, a process borrowed from the wine industry, in which the coffee cherries are fermented in an environment with low or no oxygen, but rich with carbon dioxide. In this application of the process, the coffee cherries were fermented for 240 hours, 10 full days, which has resulted in something truly out of the ordinary.

La Isabela is part of the El Samán project which consists of three different farms owned by the Zuluaga family: El Samán, La Isabela and Villa Dory. This coffee was grown by Jaime at La Isabela, a former lawyer who now dedicates his life to coffee cultivation and agriculture on the farms covering a total of 27 hectares, with varietals such as Papayo, Yellow Caturra, Pink Bourbon, Sidra and Chiroso.