We're getting a little funky with a lychee co-ferment from Colombia!
This is a funky, bright, and surprisingly refreshing coffee, with the juciest notes of lychee, chamomile and blood orange. It's a co-ferment Castillo from Oporapa in Huila, Colombia.
So where does this coffee come from?
This coffee comes from Quebraditas, an 18 hectare farm run by Edinson Argote. It's a family farm: Edinson says that they've spent their whole lives surrounded by coffee trees, handpicking cherries and perfecting practices like shade management and soil care. But Quebraditas is also passionate about innovative processes -- fermentations, thermal shock, yeast innoculation -- which is a lot of technical terminology to say they bring a balance of the old and the new to their microlots.
This coffee is oxidised for 24 hours, co-fermented with lychee for 72 hours, and then dried in the Colombian sun for 76 hours.
How did we choose it?
At this year's London Coffee Festival, co-ferments were everywhere. They're the It Girl of coffee right now, and we knew we wanted one in our lineup.
They're so vibrant and punchy, but it can sometimes be tricky to find the right one: at least for our tastebuds, they can sometimes tip into oversweetness, and some of the flavours don't sit quite right with coffee. We had about fifteen co-ferment samples sent to us, and this lychee one was the perfect balance of funky but not too overpowering. It's also iced coffee season, and boy does this one make a good cold brew!
How should I make it?
Best for V60, Clever Dripper, or Kalitia. Or enjoy as a cold brew!
(Really -- cold brew is perfect for this one!)
We use 18g of coffee to 250g of water, with a water temp of 85°C. Always used filtered water if you can!
Brew for 2:30, put your feet up, and enjoy.
For cold brew, we go for 70g of coffee to 1L water. Leave to brew in the fridge for at least 12 hours.
