Farm Info

This unique lot of Purple Caturra Natural is harvested and produced at Finca Monteblanco – a farm located on the very top of a mountain, in the San Adolfo municipality above Pitalito, a family farm managed by Rodrigo Sanchez Valencia and his wife Claudia Samboni, following the coffee-growing tradition that began with his grandfather. In the 14 hectares of Monteblanco farm, Rodrigo and his team have achieved several exotic varieties’ ideal growth and productivity. This is possible thanks to the farm’s environmental characteristics allowing Rodrigo to cultivate top-quality Gesha, Pink Bourbon, Pacamara, Purple Caturra, and Red Caturra, among others.

Each harvest, Finca Monteblanco produces micro-lots that serve as competition coffees around the world. Coffees from Monteblanco are milled and prepared for export at the new, state of the art Aromas del Sur dry mill in Pitalito.

Purple Caturra Natural Process

Several years ago, Rodrigo explored the coffee trees planted on Monteblanco. He discovered various varieties his grandfather had grown in the 1980’s.
One of these varieties is Purple Caturra, a type of Caturra whose cherries ripen to a deep purple colour. All cherries harvested are measured for degrees Brix. Based on the sugar content, the team at Aromas del Sur, the umbrella group of Monteblanco, Progreso, and La Loma farms, then designates which processing method is the most appropriate.

Coffees with 20-23 degrees Brix are selected for Natural processing. Floaters are sorted out and then the ripe coffee cherries are placed in the solar dryer for five days, followed by roughly 22 days on raised beds in the shade. The moisture content of the cherries is monitored throughout the process and cherries are turned to avoid the formation of any mould or mildew or collection of moisture. Coffees dry until they reach the desired 10.5-11% humidity.

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