Farm Info

The Caturra Bourbon Whiskey Natural is harvested and produced at Finca La Loma.
Finca La Loma is located in Vereda Agua Negra in Pitalito, Huila, a 12-hectare farm, owned by Rodrigo Sanchez Valencia and his wife, Claudia Samboni, who have been cultivating coffee on La Loma since 2011. Varieties planted on the farm include Caturra, Variedad Colombia, Pink Bourbon, Pacamara, Laurina, and Gesha. The mill located on the farm includes a de-pulper and tanks for dry fermentation.

In 2017, Rodrigo and his team at Aromas del Sur—the parent company for La Loma, El Progreso, and Monteblanco farms and the Aromas del Sur dry mill (El Puente)—built a cupping lab on La Loma to facilitate sample roasting, crop evaluation, and sourcing at the origin. La Loma sets out to carry out the entire experimental program of the other farms of Rodrigo, thus diversifying their coffees.

Caturra Bourbon Whiskey Natural Process

A mixture of Bourbon and Caturra varieties are used for this process. The cherries are selected above 24 degrees Brix, floated, pulped and placed in tanks where a pre-made special starter culture will be added.

Starter culture preparation: Micro-organisms such as lactobacilli and saccharomyces cerevisiae are obtained and then mixed with panela, providing the energy for the micro-organisms to work, alongside with small amounts of whiskey. This starter culture takes 8 days to reach its optimal state: about 150 hours of fermentation are needed for it to obtain the appropriate pH and Brix degrees to be mixed with the rest of the coffee cherries.

The coffee cherries and starter culture are then mixed inside a 200-liter drum, for an anaerobic fermentation for 200 hours, making sure that the pH stays at a minimum of 4 and the Brix degrees between 8 and 10.

Once fermentation is completed, the cherries will go into a drying phase of 30 to 35 days, depending on the intensity and the solar luminosity. The next step is to send the cherries to the local winery in Pitalito where it is tasted and verified that the initial process with the desired notes and characteristic profile of this coffee are maintained.

The coffee is then left at the cellar to rest for 20 days, after which Rodrigo and his team proceed to thresh and deposit the coffee in oak barrels that have been used for the production of whiskey, for 30 days, seeking that by osmosis there is the transfer of the aroma that this wood has obtained during so many years of fermentation.

It is a one-of-a-kind experience to be enjoyed by both those new and experienced coffee drinkers that wish to taste the best of both worlds.