tasting notes: tamarind, caramel, papaya
region: nariño
farm: la indonesia
producer: frank rivas torres
varietal: bourbon
process: natural
elevation: 1750 masl
harvest: april
importer: ally
from ally:
Frank Rivas Torres is a coffee producer, Q Grader, and the primary manager of his family’s estate, Finca La Indonesia, in the Nariño department of Colombia. Frank and his siblings—Juan Angel, Gabriel, and Yorgeny, all coffee producers in their own right—cultivate coffee across the La Indonesia property, which was handed down from their grandfather, Marco Antonio Torres. The estate is comprised of several plots of land located just outside of La Pradera town in La Union municipality. The family’s history in coffee is long, with Marco Antonio being one of the first people to cultivate coffee in La Union more than 80 years ago. Frank and his siblings grow coffee alongside fruits and many different trees for shade at La Indonesia, with an emphasis on preserving soil quality and responsible water management.
La Indonesia sits 1750 meters above sea level on one of Nariño’s many mountain slopes. The farm has infrastructure to process Washed, Honey, and Natural coffees, as well as over 300 square meters of patios for drying coffee. Plantains, citrus, bananas, lulo, and corn are all cultivated alongside the coffee crop as well.
Managing the quality of the environment is a priority, as well as having a scientific approach to the quality of the coffee crop. The land is fertilized four times per year with the aim of preserving the organic matter in the soil. Coffee cherries are measured with a brixometer to determine the optimal harvest time, choosing the best sugar concentrations for each cultivated variety. The family has also planted several varieties at La Indonesia, including Pink Bourbon, Maragogype, Bourbon Sidra, and Yirgacheffe, seeking out unique profiles and emphasizing high quality coffee over large production volumes.
This lot of Bourbon coffee underwent Natural processing. Harvested cherries are measured for their sugar content, ensuring a reading of 22 degrees Brix before processing. Cherries are sorted via floatation to remove defects before being washed with a mixture of water and alcohol. The washed cherries are put into food-grade plastic tanks and are dry fermented for 100–120 hours. The fermented cherries are dried for approximately 20 days on raised beds before being finished on the drying patio where they reach a humidity of 10–11%. Coffee is stored in LatinA Tech bags prior to shipment.