Colombia Campo Hermoso Co-Fermented Honey

Coffee Review November 2023: 93 points

Blind Assessment

Juicy-bright, very sweet, with a tart edge. Honeysuckle, strawberry, pipe tobacco, cane sugar, bay leaf in aroma and cup. Sweetly juicy acidity; buoyant, lightly syrupy in the mouthfeel. Consolidates to florals and pipe tobacco in the long finish.

Notes

Produced by Edwin Noreña of Finca Campo Hermoso processed by a two-stage carbonic maceration method which involves fermenting the coffee, first as whole fruit, then after pulping, inside a sealed CO2-flushed tank, with strawberry and coffee must added to the tank.  

Bottom Line

An intense, lavish Colombia infused with strawberry fruit, distinct in its aromatics, with a complex tart-earthy undercurrent. 

DESCRIPTION:
“Mossto” is the Spanish word to traditionally describe the liquid, or “grape must”, that is released from the fruits during the early stages of fermentation. In coffee, this liquid comes from previously fermenting clean and rinsed coffee cherries. The liquid carries indigenous strains of microorganisms that are critical to the fermentation process.

The “red fruits” co-fermentation by Edwin Noreña is achieved by an initial carbonic macerated fermentation with 40% coffee mossto and 60% strawberry mossto. This infusion of strawberry must is allowed to ferment with the coffee for 48 hours. After this initial carbonic maceration fermentation, the coffee cherries are depulped and put back into the vessels for a second carbonic maceration fermentation with only the coffee mossto for 24 hours.

After the multi-step fermentation is complete, the pulped coffee is allowed to dry in mucilage for 18 to 20 days as a honey-process.

Finca Campo Hermoso has been in Edwin’s family for over 30 years. After his father passed away, Edwin began developing the farm for unique specialty coffees. Edwin has become a prominent innovator for Colombian specialty coffees. He is a Q Grader, Q Processor, and Cup of Excellence judge in addition to overseeing the farm and processing operation.

Our relationship with Edwin goes back to our first visit in 2021. Along with Camilo Merizalde with the Santuario Project, Campo Hermoso has become a R&D center to explore and experiment with various fermentation methods. This knowledge is being applied at other Santuario Project sites in Costa Rica, Mexico and Brazil.