Here's what Raw Materials the importer of this coffee have to say about it:

The Farm
Beyond simply being our central meeting point and office, we designed El Fénix with the long-term vision of three distinct, complementary, supporting businesses sharing one space.

Namely, El Fenix is an organic rare-variety coffee forest and post-harvest lab. A space for experimenting and gathering data first-hand on new practical farming. Techniques, adaptation to organic production, and selective breeding programs. To host farm management and cupping courses for producers and roasters, and to gain roasters’ attention.
El Fénix is located in the eastern municipality of Quindío, Colombia in Calarcá. It faces west toward the Cauca Valley and the central mountain range. The farm has ideal climate conditions with a strong sun reflection off the valley and an average rainfall of 2,275mm a year, in addition to natural spring falls which provide water for the farm’s needs. 

Anoxic Washed

Once cherries are received, they are hand-picked and floated to ensure only those of the best quality continue to the processing stage. These cherries are placed into a deep cleaned fermentation tank. A sheet is then placed over the cherries, which is then submerged with cool water. The seal created by the water pressing onto the sheeting creates a vacuum effect on the coffee below, creating an anoxic environment for fermentation to begin, which lasts for 48 hours. 

The water and sheet act as not only a sealant, but a heat exchange, allowing the heat build up to transfer to the water, which evaporates away. A stabilised temperature of around 25 degrees Celsius ensures that the cherry doesn’t over ferment. This temperature is regularly monitored, and if it falls too low for fermentation to continue, hot water is added to the water pillow, to provide warmth to the fermenting coffee underneath.

Once the fermentation is complete, the water is drained, and the sheet is removed. The now fermented coffee is rinsed and drained of all residual liquid. For the washing process to continue, the cherries are pulped, and the exposed beans are washed and graded.

The coffee is then sun dried for between 4 and 8 hours daily, and dried on raised beds for between 2 to 3 weeks.

• Despatched next working day
• We use recyclable & CO2 neutral packaging
• Roasted fresh every working day
• Free next day shipping when you spend over £30
• Free two day shipping when you spend over £25