El Jardin
Luis Rubio
Nicaragua
Process: Natural Carbonic Maceration
Varietal: Red Caturra, Catuai
Altitude: 1250- 1350 masl
Region: Dipito, Nuevo Segovia, Nicaragua
Score SCA 87.5
The coffee cherries are brought to his facility on the farm and are placed into a floating section that separates the dense cherries from the non-dense. The dense cherries fall into a barrel in a room just below which he calls a siphon. This is his wet mill/ fermentation area. From the siphon it goes into a barrel that has no water and is filled 3/4 of the way with cherries. He then seals it and has a one way valve to allow the release of oxygen. When he seals it there’s still some oxygen so from the bottom he injects c02 and that pushes all the oxygen out. Once all the oxygen is out he fully inoculates it with c02 - the fermentation begins. Everyday he opens the tanks and checks the PH and the temperature to make sure they are correct. He then reseals and re-enoculates. This process is done everyday for 96 hours which is about 4 days. From there he takes the cherries and put it onto drying beds. He dries it for up to 21-30 days. Once the cherries receive the moisture of 12% he will then pulp it, bag it and set it in storage so that the coffee can homogenize. From there once it’s ready to be exported he will mill and pack it in the bags.
Luis Fernando Rubio is a young and innovative coffee producer who invested in himself and vertically integrated the value chain of his coffee on his finca El Jardin. Luis has spent many hours doing research and development along with practical trial and error to conceptualize and optimize unique coffee processes with distinct and exceptional flavor profiles. Luis’s efforts to provide quality specialty coffee have create a tremendous amount of momentum, we’re excited to share his new lots with our customers.
Finca El Jardin spans between 1250m-1350m above sea level in the mountains of Dipilto in Nueva Segovia, Nicaragua. The farm has 4 manzanas(6.96 acres) of productive land and primarily produces: Red Caturra, Red Catuai and Yellow Catuai. The unique post-harvest processing methods combined with the nutrient rich soil on the farm, synergistically create outstanding coffees with intense flavor.
Carbonic maceration is a fermentation technique originally used in wine making. Often described as giving fresh fruit flavours and lowering tanins, the technique is famously used to produce wines from the French region of Beaujolais. Despite being used in winemaking since 1934, carbonic maceration only came to prominence in the coffee industry in 2015, when it was used by Saša Šestić in his World Barista Championship-winning routine.
Carbonic maceration is a type of anaerobic fermentation – that is, any type of fermentation that takes place under low or no oxygen conditions.
Carbonic maceration is achieved by placing whole, undamaged coffee cherries into a sealed vessel, either plastic or stainless steel, usually with a one-way-valve to release pressure build-up, and allowing the cherries to undergo fermentation. Following a similar process to standard anaerobic fermentation, carbonic maceration differs in that the sealed vessel is immediately pumped full of carbon dioxide.
During traditional coffee processing, fermentation begins naturally when microorganisms present on the surface of the coffee cherry gain access to the sugary mucilage or fruit flesh – this process occurs for washed or honey processed coffees during pulping. The same process occurs for naturally processed coffees as the fruit begins to dry. When using carbonic maceration, the skin of the coffee cherry is left unbroken, preventing access to the mucilage by microorganisms. Instead, encouraged by the carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere, the coffee cherries undergo intracellular fermentation, a process that occurs from the inside out.
This experimental coffee processing technique gives producers a high degree of control over the fermentation process as they are able to manipulate temperature and pH to alter the speed and degree of fermentation. The carbonic maceration process also allows producers to create an environment that differs greatly from that of standard coffee processing techniques, allowing them to produce a wider range of flavour profiles and diversify their offering.
Advantages: Carbonic maceration results in a sweet and fruity coffee with a light body and low acidity.
