SL34 - Hybrid Washed - Finca Potosi, Cafe Granja La Esperanza

Description

Tastes Like: Pink Strawberry, Tree Tomato, Pink Florals Origin: Finca Potosi, Cauca, Colombia Variety: SL34 Producer:  Rigoberto and Luis Eduardo Herrera Elevation: 1,400-1860 masl Process: Hybrid Washed About the Cup This SL34 from Finca Potosí is bright and fruit-forward, with pink strawberry sweetness, tree tomato-like acidity, and a soft pink-floral aromatic profile. The hybrid washed process adds layered fruit expression and a refined texture while keeping the cup structured and articulate. About Finca Potosi, Cafe Granja La Esperanza Café Granja La Esperanza is the Herrera family’s specialty coffee project in Valle del Cauca, led by Rigoberto and Luis Eduardo Herrera. The family’s work began at Potosí, where Juan Antonio Herrera expanded the farm’s existing Typica plantings with Yellow Bourbon, Red Bourbon, and Caturra in 1945, establishing a foundation of variety selection and quality-focused production that continues in the group’s work today. Finca Potosí is located in Caicedonia, Valle del Cauca, with the broader farm ranging from approximately 1,400 to 1,860 meters above sea level. The farm is divided into multiple lots across 52 hectares, and this SL34 selection sits within the high-elevation range associated with a brighter, more structured cup profile. About SL34 SL34 is a Kenyan selection developed at Scott Agricultural Laboratories in the late 1930s. While it is often grouped with the historic “French Mission” story, World Coffee Research identifies SL34 as Typica-related within the Bourbon-Typica genetic group. In this Colombian context, SL34 is especially interesting because a variety most closely associated with Kenyan coffee is being grown at high elevation on Finca Potosí, where the cup can show vivid red-fruit acidity, florality, and a clean, expressive structure. About Processing This coffee is processed as a hybrid washed lot, combining controlled fermentation steps with a washed finish. After hand selection, the cherries undergo an initial 14-hour open-tank fermentation, followed by an 18-hour oxygen-free fermentation. The coffee is then depulped, held through a final 24-hour aerobic fermentation stage, washed, and dried in mechanical silos for 3–5 days at 38°C. The result is a process designed to build fruit intensity and aromatic depth while retaining the clarity associated with washed processing. In the cup, that structure supports the pink strawberry and floral notes without pushing the profile into a heavy or over-fermented direction.