Colombia, Quindio - WINE YEAST FERMENTATION
ROAST | LIGHT
PROCESS | WINE YEAST FERMENTATION
NOTES | FRUIT PUNCH, PINEAPPLE, RED WINE
Meet The Producer
Sebastian Ramìrez’s family has grown coffee since his
grandfather first planted it on their land over 100 years ago.
Finca El Placer, located in Quindio, Colombia, focuses on
sustainable farming and soil health because they believe
healthy plants create exceptional flavor profiles. They run a
program for local growers that pays 20% over market price
for coffees that meet their high quality standard.
The Ramìrez family has been growing coffee for over 100 years, or since Sebastian's grandfather, Ernesto Ramìrez Valencia started planting the first coffea arabica shrubs of Typica and Bourbon on their family land. The land is managed by the father son duo Sebastian and his father Ernesto. In this region of the Colombia coffee grows all year round and is harvested weekly with production peaks from April to June and from September to December.
The production at Finca El Placer specializes in the cultivation and production of micro lots of Variedad Colombia, Castillo, Caturra, Geisha and Yellow & Pink Bourbon.
When Sebastian started working on the farm, the family was only producing fully washed coffees. Always very anxious and curious to learn more, and by sheer luck, El Placer is located only 15 minutes away from the (National School for Coffee Quality) SENA, which is a government institution that is completely free of cost to coffee producers. From there, Sebastian was able utilize the resources and education provided by the school to further his knowledge and technical understanding in the production of experimental processed coffees. Sebastian credits the school for its contribution to fueling his curiosity and providing him access to now further his experimentation with coffee.
Finca El Placer, is located in the department of Quindio, Colombia. This region plays a big role in the overall Colombian coffee supply and is part of what is regraded as the “coffee triangle” or better known in Spanish as “Triángulo del Café”. At El Placer, efforts are intentionally focused towards sustainable farming, for example by avoiding the use of any herbicides and routine weed removal every two months to prevent disruption to production. Soil health is a priority, and taking sustainable farm management measures results in healthy plants and contributes to exceptional flavor profiles. Another factor that takes things to another level that’s not commonly found in the coffee industry, Sebastian utilizes his deep knowledge of coffee processing and access to a well-equipped microbiological laboratory to gather a deeper knowledge of what is scientifically occurring during processing and fermentation on a molecular level with his coffees. This is a critical step for Sebastian and the El Placer team to develop innovative coffees and exotic profiles that are some of the most revered and methodically executed experimentally processed coffees in the entire industry.
Finca El Placer directly employs 8 people full time and oversees and manages the processing/quality control for 5 different farms in the area with the help of family and friends. El Placer has created a local farmer program to assist growers in the area to improve and incentivize top notch quality that pays 20% price premiums over the internal local market price for coffee, since they demand a specific high quality standard in collection.