Monteblanco - Colombia

Finca Monteblanco, a family-run coffee farm in Pitalito, is managed by Rodrigo Sanchez Valencia and his wife Claudia Samboni. Located on and 18-hectare hillside, the farm features a wet mill and drying facilities at its peak with coffee plants on the slopes below. They focus on experimenting with coffee varieties and processing methods, measuring the sugar content of harvest cherries to determine the best processing approach. The coffee has undergone a unique fermentation method using a ‘mother culture’ made from tropical fruit nectar (watermelon, melon) blended with microorganisms like lactobacillus and saccharomyces cerevisiae. The culture enhances the coffee’s sweetness and maintains high Brix levels. Coffee cherries are fermented with this culture for 190 hours, ensuring the Brix levels to remain above 6 and pH above 4. After fermentation, the coffee is dried for 2-3 days in sunlight and 15-18 days under shaded canopies. This unique fermentation process gives this coffee notes of refreshing watermelon, sweet honeydew melon and raspberries.