Myrrh - La Riviera Cultured SL-28

FIRST ROAST SHIPS 12/9!

For the Holiday Season we are bringing you our second SL-28 selection from two legendary producers. Julio Madrid, alongside his business partner Julio Quiceno, have been cultivating and processing coffee since 2013. Together they manage three farms, Buenos Aires, Milan, and La Riviera, producing distinguished varietals such as this SL28. Grown at La Riviera farm in Santa Rosa de Cabal, Risaralda, at an elevation of 1750 masl, this coffee benefits from ecologically mindful practices, including the use of shade trees to enhance the growing environment. 

Culturing is an advanced fermentation method inspired by techniques widely used
in food biotechnology, such as those applied in the production of yogurt, cheese, and fermented vegetables. This technique is based on the controlled addition of starter     cultures composed of specific microbial consortia (yeasts, lactic acid bacteria, and other functional species), with the aim of inducing defined biochemical transformations in
the substrate in this case, coffee. 

At Cafe Uba they implement this technique by incorporating controlled starter cultures,
made up of selected microbial consortia (yeasts, lactic acid bacteria, etc.), along with
substrates such as fresh fruits (pineapple, banana, mango, passion fruit), aromatic plants, essential oils, and aromatic compounds obtained through distillation and reduction. These elements introduce matrices rich in sugars, aromatic precursors, and micronutrients, designed to modulate microbial metabolism and enrich the sensory profile of the coffee.
In parallel, the coffee cherries undergo spontaneous fermentation, taking advantage of the native microbial load present in the wet mill environment and the endogenous microorganisms of the bean itself. This mixed fermentation, combining inoculated starters and spontaneous microbiota, results in a unique sensory complexity defined by secondary metabolites and volatile compounds produced during the controlled fermentation process.

Coffee Cherry Selection: Selective handpicking focused on optimally ripe cherries that are uniform in size and color, and free of defects. Initial tests for Brix, floatation, and physical quality are conducted prior to fermentation.

Substrates and Aromatic Precursors: Strategic use of fruits, aromatic plants, essential oils, and aromatic compounds to provide simple sugars (glucose, fructose, sucrose), micronutrients, and  bioactive compounds (terpenes, aldehydes, esters) that support specific microbial metabolic pathways.

Microorganisms and Starter Cultures: Inoculation with starter cultures composed of selected strains such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Kazachstania humilis, Kluyveromyces marxianus, and lactic acid bacteria (Lactobacillus, Leuconostoc spp.), designed to dominate the microbial ecosystem and guide the fermentation process toward desired sensory profiles.

Fermentation Parameters: Precise control of temperature, time, pH, Brix, pressure, conductivity, and redox potential to optimize microbial activity and ensure both the safety and quality of the process.

Post-Fermentation Drying: Implementation of a sequential drying method including centrifugation (to remove surface water), controlled mechanical drying (down to 40% moisture), and slow sun drying (down to 10-11% moisture), designed to preserve volatile compounds and stabilize the bean.

If you made it down this far we applaud you. There are very few farms that are applying science the way these two are. We wanted you to know all the nitty gritty details that make this coffee so special.