Overview
We’re thrilled to continue expanding our purchasing from Familia Ortega Gomez by featuring different varieties; and this will mark our second time serving Esnaider’s Sidra!
Sidra is a hybrid of two heirloom Arabica varieties - Typica and Bourbon - that was originally cultivated in Ecuador. It harmoniously melds the stereotypical characteristics of each parent variety. It’s weighted with a dense and complex sweetness, like Bourbon; yet boasts vibrant citrus and floral notes, like Typica. As Esnaider explains, though it’s much more susceptible to disease and difficult to grow, the resulting flavors are explosive and dynamic. We’re tasting: raspberry jam, cherry, citrus zest, hibiscus, candied ginger, baking spices, honey, cane sugar, coca cola, black tea.
Esnaider shares: Es un lote muy especial debido a que solo contamos con 350 árboles, lo que lo convierte en un lote muy limitado y único. No ha sido facil llevarlos a producción, debido a que fue muy propenso a enfermedades en la etapa de crecimiento y son variedades que requieren mucho más cuidado y atención que otras variedades tradicionales.
Las variedades tradicionales por lo general toman 23 a 24 meses para iniciar su producción En este caso, Sidra inicio alos 28 meses de el edad. El cambio fue un reto que logramos avanzar con éxito ahora. Debido a que cambiamos 1000 árboles de Caturro por 350 de Sidra.
En mi concepto con el tema de variedades exóticas es de tener mucho cuidado Por qué son materiales muy exigentes y si no se tienen un debido cuidado el cultivo se va arruinar.Y la economía de los productores va a sufrir si se ha hecho una gran inversión de tiempo y dinero. En nuestro caso sidra no es nuestra base económica en el café. Nuestra base depende de otras variedades tradicionales como caturros.
Gracias a nuestros amigos de 1000 faces coffee. Por compartir este conjunto de variedades con sus clientes. Y año tras año demostrarnos su respeto y interés por nuestros cafés
Translated from Spanish: It is a very special lot because we only have 350 trees, which makes it a very limited and unique lot. It has not been easy to bring them into production, because they were very prone to diseases during the growth stage and they are varieties that require much more care and attention than other traditional varieties.
Traditional varieties generally take 23 to 24 months to start production. In this case, Sidra started at 28 months of age. The change was a challenge that we managed to move forward successfully now. Because we traded 1,000 caturro trees for 350 cider trees.
In my opinion, with the subject of exotic varieties, it is necessary to be very careful. Because they are very demanding materials and if proper care is not taken, the crop will be ruined. And the economy of the producers will suffer if a large investment of time and money has been made. In our case, Sidra is not our economic base in coffee. Our base depends on other traditional varieties such as Caturros.
Thank you to our friends at 1000 Faces Coffee for sharing this set of varieties with your customers. And year after year show us your respect and interest in our coffees.
Relationship
In early 2020 we were introduced to the young and extremely passionate coffee producer, Esnaider Ortega Gomez, via our friend Brendan Adams of Semilla Coffee. It was around this time they first began working together to build a dedicated crew of roasting partners to purchase the bulk of Esnaider’s harvest at high, sustainable prices. After being blown away by some early harvest samples and forming our own friendship through ongoing talks with Esnaider over the span of a few months (now years!), we decided to jump on board with the project.
1000 Faces has synced with Semillia in committing to a long-term investment and relationship with the Ortega Gomez family. We’re hoping to shift the traditional farmer-buyer power dynamic by working directly with Esnaider to explore their cost of production, and we’re aiming to pay a true living wage for their coffees - which equates to some of the highest prices paid for a traditional washed coffee in all of Colombia.
Our relationship is ever evolving, as we’re chatting with Esnaider on a very regular basis. Even had the pleasure of traveling with him to Honduras in 2023! His vision in the past couple of years has grown to establish a larger group of growers, collectively known as Monkaaba. In addition to securing specialty market access through Semilla, one of Esnaider’s main goals is to invest in ongoing education that will grow the group’s knowledge and skills to ensure future success. Esnaider holds regular gatherings to cup and brew each other's coffee, which has led to a much more holistic understanding and confidence in the quality of their coffee.
Semilla Coffee shares about Monkaaba: The idea for this came to Esnaider thanks to his experience over the last ten years working as a sample roaster and cupper. While he was always happy to see producers receive a solid price for their coffees through this exporter, he noticed that there was very little understanding at the buyer level of what went into coffee production. Too often he watched coffees produced by people he knew be rejected due to a single cupping session, and for this producer to receive little explanation of why it was rejected or what could be improved. What worried him the most was how this process could be confusing or demotivating to producers seeking to enter the specialty market, and he knew there had to be many who were being overlooked as a result.
Rather than focusing only on his own success as a grower, he wants to see all those around him engaged in sustainable, meaningful relationships. Now with Monkaaba, he commits himself to this on the daily. Not only does he hold weekly cupping sessions for all producers who would like to have their samples evaluated, but he also invites all those willing and interested to come and cup alongside him.
The early results have been amazing as he’s collected coffees from all over the area and hosted growers of all levels of experience and age at his farm, to cup and to discuss in depth about their goals and dreams and challenges.
Processing
This offering from Familia Ortega Gomez is 100% Sidra - a unique hybrid of original Bourbon and Typica varieties. The bulk of their land, like most farms in Colombia, is planted with Caturra and Castillo; but Esnaider is also working towards cultivating new plots of some very special varieties like Typica, Sidra, and Tabi, which we hope to continue featuring in the future.
Cherries are picked every 15 days when they reach peak ripeness. They are floated and hand selected to remove all immature cherries, and then are placed on raised beds to drain the excess water. The coffee is depulped the next morning and dry ferments for an average of 22 hours in oak tanks. It’s rinsed four times and then left to drain in plastic bags for 8 hours. The coffee is dried for 15 days in shade, and then moved to the upper level of the beneficio where it finds more sun and is dried for another 5 days.
