Jhoan Vergara’s coffee is an excellent example of a new wave of Colombian producers, experimenting with new varietals and processing techniques to make exquisite fruit and floral forward coffee, uncharacteristic of the classic washed Colombian profile. This lot of 100% pink bourbon varietal, processed utilizing anaerobic fermentation and thermal shock techniques, comes to us tasting of Starburst candy, flowers and ginger. 

Jhoan is just the latest generation of the Vergara family to enter coffee farming, having left high school at 15 to attend SENA (the Servicio Nacional de Aprendizaje, or National Training Service), where many coffee producers learn agronomy, cupping, roasting and basic brewing skills. This attention to coffee quality from a young age has led to years of experimentation to achieve his ideal cup profile, resulting in his unique processing protocol.

His process begins with a 24-48 hour cherry ferment, after which he floats the cherry to homogenize the temperature, then de-pulps it before adding it to sealed plastic bags for an anaerobic fermentation stage. Vergara works with a microbiology lab to reproduce the microorganisms present on each variety of cherry he grows, which he adds to the coffee during the anaerobic ferment, allowing them to push out any other microbes from propagating that may introduce unwanted flavors. Finally, he washes the coffee with hot water, the thermal shock, which Jhoan says opens up the coffee pores and intensifies sweetness and acidity.