Colombia : Brayan Alvear, Apple (Partner Rate)

Colombia Brayan Alvear, Las Palmas Location: Huila, Colombia Process: Apple Co-Ferment Varietal: Caturra MASL: 1600 Cup Notes: Honeycrisp, Green Apple Candy, Nectarine Retail Bag MSRP: $25.00 In the Cup Crisp apple-like acidity, clean fruit tones, and a bright, juicy finish. A layered fermentation process using green apple juice and a proprietary mother culture gives this coffee its signature character — think fresh malic brightness with a clean, sweet complexity that lingers. The Process This coffee goes through a four-stage fermentation designed to build its distinctive apple-forward clarity: Selective Harvest & Sorting — Only peak-ripe cherries are picked, then floated to remove any impurities or underdeveloped fruit. First Fermentation (36 hrs) — Whole cherries rest in sealed tanks for controlled oxidation before dry pulping. Second Fermentation (36 hrs) — Parchment and mucilage ferment with coffee must from a previous batch, enriching microbial complexity. Apple Juice Fermentation (48 hrs) — A mother culture blended with green apple juice is applied in two stages, building the crisp, malic acidity and clean fruit tone that define this lot. Rinse & Sun Dry — After a final rinse, the coffee dries slowly on open patios for 10–15 days. The Farm — Las Palmas Nestled in Huila, Colombia, Las Palmas spans over 30 hectares of ideal terrain for specialty coffee. The farm grows eight specialty varieties including Caturra, Geisha, Pink Bourbon, and Bourbon Sidra. It is led by Bryan Alvear, a fourth-generation coffee producer with over 18 years of experience, whose focus on innovation and experimental fermentation has made Las Palmas a benchmark for distinctive, clean cup profiles — the result of heritage knowledge meeting modern processing techniques.