Filter - German Ortiz, Colombia

German Ortiz is one of the founding presidents of the Los Guácharos group, a group of independent, quality-focused smallholder producers in Bruselas, Southern Huila. His farm, Finca Mi Terruño, is located in the township of Cabeceras at around 1500 masl. One of his lots has around 1000 Pink Bourbon trees, as well as 4000 variedad Colombia trees, and 3000 Castillo trees. German has been using calcium sulfate for the last four years, and he’s seen good results- despite being at relatively low altitudes. He also treats his piled up coffee pulp with microorganisms and ash to help the decomposition process, and he is able to use this as fertilising compost within two months.

To process this coffee, German first floats the cherries to remove under and overripe cherries, and then he leaves the coffee in cherry for an initial fermentation in closed plastic bags for about 24 hours. From there, he de-pulps the coffee and leaves it to continue fermenting in sealed plastic barrels with one-way valves for another 36-48 hours. After washing the coffee, it dries evenly in a traditional parabolic drier for several days depending on weather conditions.