Day 7 | Colombia Edwin Noreña Black Honey Sidra

This unique process coffee comes to us from renowned producer Edwin Noreña and his farm Finca Campo Hermos. Located in Circasia, Quindío (in the heart of the Colombian coffee growing axis), this 25-hectare farm is known for its experimental processes and award winning coffees, and has become a specialty coffee powerhouse.

Edwin Noreña is a fourth-generation coffee farmer, an agro-industrial engineer with graduate level studies in biotechnology, a Q grader, a Cup of Excellence judge, an award winning producer, and undoubtedly one of Colombia’s innovative leaders in coffee, Edwin brings generational knowledge to his techniques, as well as an insatiable curiosity for unique cup profiles and innovative processes.

Edwin is hands-on throughout production and does things differently from traditional Colombian coffee farmers. His methods eliminate the need for vast amounts of water. He utilizes coffee husk (cascara) as organic compost and fertilizer, promoting sustainability in his practices. Currently Edwin is transitioning his coffee processing plant to solar energy. His commitment to eco-friendly solutions and resource optimization truly sets him apart.

Sidra is an interesting varietal that, according to the non-profit organization World Coffee Research, may not have a clear genetic identity. It is believed to be native to Ecuador and is thought by some to be an "unreleased" experimental cross-breed (a mix of Typica and Bourbon) developed by Nestlé. However, more recent testing has shown samples of Sidra to be genetically similar to Ethiopian landrace varietals, sharing their sweet, fruity, and floral characteristics. This exclusive varietal is winning competitions world wide and becoming highly sought-after.

For this Black Honey lot, coffee cherries were hand picked at peak ripeness using a brix meter and carefully sorted for quality. The selected whole cherries were soaked in clean water before being moved to sealed tanks for their primary anaerobic fermentation. After 56 hours, the cherries were removed from the tanks, dry-pulped, and put back into the sealed tanks to ferment for the second time in the low oxygen environment. After 48 hours the coffee was removed from the tanks and spread out on patios or raised beds to dry for around 15 days.