Cosmic Candy – El Aguacate Colombia

The Farm
Near the small town of Arboleda, in the Nariño region of Colombia sits the small farm of El Aguacate, run by Gabriel Narvaez alongside his wife and four children. Gabriel has been managing the farm with his family for the past 15 years and despite the challenges that the area brings, he is constantly working to improve the quality of their production and processing. The farm, located at 2285 masl, with an average temperature of 19C, nutrient rich soil and a diversity of other plants keeping the coffee out of direct sunlight, has the perfect conditions for producing high quality coffee. The other plants on the farm such as corn, yucca, and beans, are grown to help supplement their income but also help to increase the biodiversity of the farm. While not Organic certified, Gabriel farms his coffee without the use of any chemical fertilizers or herbicides, instead opting to use organic fertilizer to aid in his harvest. All the farming and harvesting are done manually to ensure the highest quality.

Extended Fermentation Honey Process
This unique fermentation process begins with the harvesters, usually Gabriel and his family, hand picking ripe cherries and placing them in clean sacks for an initial fermentation of 48 hours. After this first stage, the cherries are depulped and placed in open tanks to ferment for up to 120 hours under close monitoring. Finally the coffee is then moved onto covered raised beds to fully dry with some of the mucilage(fruit) remaining. This extended fermentation is what enhances the notes of Blueberry and Purple Grape, while the honey process gives the coffee a candy sweetness, making it a perfect Cosmic Candy

Cosmic Candy is a great example of a coffee comprising of a balanced profile with deep fruit flavours and high level of sweetness.