Red Cat - Light Roast (SP)

The first generation of the Ortega family were pioneers of coffee production in the village of San Agustin. Three generations later, Esnaider Ortega-Gomez, and his grandfather Don Olgar Ortega-Bolaños, are now owners of the farm Villa Maria and responsible for this JUICY delight that has more body than a blue whale! 

We are proud to call Esnaider our friend, as he's truly an inspirational person. We have no doubt that he is going to accomplish some remarkable things in the long career ahead of him. Not only does he produce exceptional coffees, but he's also a tireless advocate for his community and other farmers.

Esnaider is a driving force behind Monkaaba, a small cooperative of small freehold farmers, who work to ensure farmers get the best price for their hard work and are treated with respect, by establishing genuine, direct trade relationships with small businesses and roasters like us! 

ORIGIN + VARIETY: SINGLE PRODUCER - Colombia / Red Caturra
TASTING NOTES: Apple Juice, yellow fruits, rich chocolate 
ROAST: Light
PRODUCER: Familia Ortega Gomez 
FARM: Villa Maria 
REGION: Sevilla, San Agustin, Huila 
ALTITUDE: 1750 masl
PROCESS: Fully Washed  

SIZE: Available in 125g, 227g, 340g, and 908g bags 

GRIND: Whole Bean, Filter, French Press, Espresso/Moka Pot

More on process: 

As Esnaider has often joked, "our coffee lives a better life than us.” The cherries come in bursting red and ripe and are left to ferment for 12-24 hours before being floated to remove any potential underripe or insect damaged beans. After that, the coffee is immediately depulped and fermented once again for an additional 12-24 hours, before being turned out onto shaded raised beds where the coffee is dried for an average of 25-30 days.

As the temperature is quite cool, the coffees must be turned 10+ times a day, meaning that the family is constantly tending to it. In addition to their meticulous focus on processing, Esnaider and Olgar have been pursuing different fermentation regimes that are also steeped in their history. They’ve built oak tanks that resemble those used by Esnaider’s grandfather prior to the advent of concrete and other building materials and believe these tanks can add a different element to the coffee via the introduction of unique microbes present in the oak. They also ferment in clay jars, another formerly common material in the production of coffee, in pursuit of unique flavour profiles. 

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