Finca La Negrita

We are very happy and really excited to present this sweet and floral coffee with flavours of strawberry lemonade and kiwi.

Mauricio Shattah is a world-class coffee producer who continuously advances the development of coffee production. We have had the privilege of purchasing coffee from him for six years now, and his Geishas and Yellow Bourbon, the variety of this coffee, always maintain an exceptional quality.

Exactly how this variety came about is somewhat disputed, but Yellow Bourbon was discovered in its current form in Brazil in 1930. The distinct difference between Yellow and Red Bourbon, is simply the color when the berries are ripe. There are theories that the substance that makes the berries yellow (luteolin) also gives higher levels of sucrose and various acids, but the connection has not been proven, nor that it raises the quality.

This specific lot of Yellow Bourbon is first processed according to the "Natural" method for 48 hours in a sealed tank to improve fullness and structure. The pulp is then removed and the beans are put back into temperature controlled tanks along with a certain type of yeast to better control the process. Mauricio then adds more coffee every 24 hours for the next five days to provide more nutrients to the fermentation process. At the same time, you also get rid of the excess carbon dioxide that is formed during the process to ensure a clean coffee.

What sets this coffee apart from others is that Mauricio adds tartaric acid to the tank. Tartaric acid is found naturally in many fruits and Mauricio adds it to clarify the natural flavours in the coffee. Mauricio himself calls it "unlocking" flavours that are already there, so that it is easier to perceive them. After a total of eight days, the coffee is removed from the tanks and all biological waste that is formed in the process is later returned to the farm as fertilizer.

The coffee is then dried in drying rooms on raised beds until it reaches 16% moisture content. This process is allowed to take 4-6 weeks, to ensure an even drying within the coffee. During this process the coffee is being hand sorted to remove any damaged beans. Afterwards, the coffee continues to dry in certain dryers at a low temperature for three days to ascertain a moisture level of 10% and a homogenous drying which gives a higher and more consistent quality.

MAURICIO SHATTAH
After finishing his medical studies, Mauricio specialized as a radiation oncologist and for more than 20 years he had his own medical practice in Bogota. He later decided to devote himself to high quality coffee and founded one of Colombia's first specialty coffee roasteries, while also owing a very famous Mediterranean themed restaurant. After finding his passion in coffee he decided to retire completely from medicine and buy his own farm to produce his own coffee.

Mauricio and his wife Liliana searched for five years until they found the perfect farm, La Negrita. The farm is located at 2100 m.a.s.l. in Tolima, Colombia, close to the volcano ‘Nevado de Tolima’. The proximity to the volcano and its rich soils, as well as four natural springs gives the farm ideal conditions to grow coffee. The surrounding mountains provide with cover so that all the 8 hectares of coffee grows under shade. The team at La Negrita is constantly trying to improve and evolve how coffee is grown, relentlessly pushing quality, both in the field as well as in post-harvest processing. Since 2014 he has applied his scientific and medical background to coffee processing which has made his coffees world-renowned and won awards all over the world.

COFFEE INFO
Origin: Colombia
Region: Tolima
Producer: Mauricio Shattah
Farm: Finca La Negrita
Altitude: 2100 m.a.s.l
Variety: Yellow Bourbon
Process: Natural & Honey fermentation - Honey Tartaric

Flavours: A sweet and floral coffee with flavours of strawberry lemonade and kiwi.