PLOT x Forts - El Vergel Queen Gesha

SPECIAL RELEASE!!! - LIMITED SUPPLY

This was the competition coffee which we roasted for Will's amazing UKBC routine. We've teamed up with the awesome Forts to give you a chance to taste this absolutely stellar competition coffee! We get loads of watermelon candy, blueberries, apple, cherry and toffee. An unforgettable cup!

PRODUCER: Elias and Shady Baxter
CULTIVAR: Gesha
PREPARATION Submerged Carbonic Maceration
LOCATION: El Vergel, Piedra Grande, Tolima, Colombia
ALTITUDE: 1,460 masl
BAG SIZE: 150g

This coffee is one of the jewels of El Vergel and is named after the mother of the Bayter brothers, Martha, who they refer to as the "Queen". It was Martha who came up with the idea for this crazy experimental process and the results are a unique floral profile with intense blue and purple fruit flavours. Very regal!

This Gesha is planted at 1,500 masl, the highest point of El Vergel. The trees have been grown there since 2016 and have been used for many experiments on the farm.

After harvesting the cherry was rested in bags for 24-36 hours to promote acidic fermentation as the temperature rises. Afterwards the coffee cherries were macerated submerged in water inside a tank for 96-104 hours whilst flushing with CO2 every 12 hours. This flushing reduces the temperature really fast and slows down the fermentation, encouraging microbial activity responsible for developing complex floral notes.

After the fermentation was complete, the coffee was dried in a special micro-lot dryer called an Oreador, a Spanish word meaning "slow drying", and was turned manually 3-5 times a day. This drying system stabilises the temperature between 28 and 32°C, recreating the perfect sunlight temperatures for drying coffees.

Finally, the coffee is sealed in bags and stored in a cool, dark room to rest. Over a period of 45 days the coffee is moved and re-bagged 4 times in total. This process aims to promote homogenous moisture stabilisation before the coffee is milled and vacuum packaged for export.