THE STORY BEHIND

El Paraìso is a family operation. Diego Samuel and his family have worked together to create a range of high-quality coffees with unparalleled consistency. The farm team consists of 4 family members and 8 employees.

The fertilisation is based on what the trees need. Diego and his team have developed advanced fermentation and washing techniques: for instance, they employ self-collected micro-organisms. Diego has even developed his own environmentally friendly driers that work on a condensation principle.

In 2008, Diego Samuel Bermùdez Tapia started a family project to grow coffee at El Paraìso farm, located in the Department of Cauca, municipality of Piendamo, Los Arados village, thus beginning an adventure that would transform his lifestyle. He has been educating himself with the aim of finding answers and solutions to the challenges faced by the coffee sector. He is dedicated to improving the production through innovation, incorporation of technology and the best practices of coffee cultivation and processing.
He was one of the first farmers in Colombia to start experimenting with fermentation by adding different types of microorganisms and yeasts. By now he has developed various recipes that are reproducible so he can craft his profiles on demand. This is possible thanks to a strict regimen of almost industrial style processing where maintaining a clean and controlled environment is the key. All cherries are washed thoroughly with filtered water to remove all microorganisms present on the skins. Then the microorganisms are introduced. The level of fermentation is controlled by keeping track of temperature and ph. The thermal shock process, using cold and warm water, guarantees that the spectacular flavours and aromas are absorbed better by the beans.

Since 2015 Finca El Paraì­so has positioned itself as a producer of specialty coffee through participation in various regional and national competitions, and as a family business dedicated to the cultivation, processing, and marketing of high-quality coffee. Now, the business comprises the total of four farms: the three-hectare El Paraìso and the new farms Villa Rosita, Villa Esperanza, and Villa Alejandro, with seven, ten and three hectares of coffee area respectively, that add up to 25 hectares of coffee area. All of them work under the name El Paraìso.

THE VARIETY

Castillo is named after the researcher Jamie Castillo, who helped Cenicafe, Colombia’s coffee research centre, develop the varietal in 2005.

Castillo was designed as an improvement on the Colombia variety. It is resistant to leaf rust (roya) and has quickly become the most planted coffee in Colombia. It is high-yield, resistant to leaf rust and other prevalent diseases and its smaller size allows for greater planting density.

THE FERMENTATION PROCESS

Their Eco-Enigma drying technology operates through closed circuit air recirculation and temperature control. Drying temperature is programmed according to the flavour profiles Diego has developed. Red Plum and Lychee are two of these profiles. For the profiles, Diego has crafted different "recipes" with different fermentation and stages of drying that use a specific temperature and duration.

The process starts with anaerobic fermentation for 48 hours at 18 degrees Celsius in tanks with a pressure release valve. Then the cherries are depulped and anaerobically fermented for the second time in mucilage for 48 hours at 120 degrees Celsius.

The third step is the thermal shock wash, first with water at 40 degrees, then with water at 12 degrees. Lastly, the cherries undergo a controlled drying for 34 hours at 35 degrees to decrease the relative humidity from 25% to the desired level between 10%-11%.

Finca El Paraiso

QUALITY. HONESTY. TRANSPARENCY. Above all we believe in these three things and they form the bedrock of our approach to coffee. Founded by multi award winning roaster Rubens Gardelli, Gardelli Specialty Coffees aims to bring you only the finest quality coffees available. To achieve this we form lasting relationships with farmers giving you confidence in the transparency of our buying. To ensure quality we score and assess each coffee to SCAA and Q standards, this score forms the basis of our honest pricing. To bring the best out of this coffee, we pay particular attention to how we roast.

Gardelli Specialty Coffees

PRODUCER: Several Small Farmers
COUNTRY: Ethiopia
TERROIR; Yirgacheffe
CULTIVAR: Heirlooms
PICKED IN: Dec 2019 - Jan 2020
LANDED IN: October 2020
ROAST PROFILE BY: Rubens Gardelli
ROASTED ON: Customised roaster

THE STORY BEHIND
This is the third year in a row that we work with Banko Gotiti Cooperative, and we are truly impressed by the consistently high quality they attain in coffee production.

Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Banko Gotiti is sourced from family-owned farms organized around the Banko Gotiti Cooperative located in the village of Banko Gotiti in the southern district of Gedeb in the Gedeo Zone, Ethiopia. The cooperative was established in 2012 as a separate entity from the larger Worka Cooperative, and currently has approximately 300 members. Banko Gotiti Cooperative is well known for the best coffee cherry selection in Ethiopia.

Ripe cherries are carefully selected and immediately placed on raised beds constructed in such a way as to ensure proper air circulation and temperature control for an optimal drying process. The cherries are stored in a local warehouse after the moisture is reduced to between 11.5 and 12 percent, and then transported to Addis Ababa where the coffee is milled and exported.

Gardelli Specialty Coffees

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Gardelli Specialty Coffees

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Banko Gotiti, Lot 0069

Finca El Paraiso

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