Colombia Tolima Dulce Natural - *50242* - 25096 - 70.2 kg GrainPro Bags - SPOT RCWHSE

For many years Tolima has remained hidden in plain sight between other well-known coffee growing regions because armed conflict and coca leaf production isolated coffee producers and exposed them to high rates of violence. During this time the municipality of Planadas, located in the southernmost corner of Tolima, had remained an untapped source of specialty coffee where thousands of producers have been cultivating coffee on just a few acres of land intercropped with shade trees, bananas, corn, beans, and sugarcane. As conflicto has subsided in recent years, locally organized producer groups have created market access for their coffee. A select group of producers volunteered to take on processing techniques uncommon for the region, which brings us to this rare naturally processed lot from small farms in the communities of Caicedonia and El Rubi. Each producer floated their harvested cherry to remove damaged and less dense beans. Then the cherries were sealed in airtight plastic drums and fermented for 46 hours. Next the cherries were placed on raised beds and dried to 30 percent moisture over a period of days. Then the cherries were placed in grainpro bags and rested for 5 days in a cool indoor space. Then the coffee was returned to the raised beds and dried to 20 percent moisture and again rested in grainpro bags for another 4 days. After this process the coffee was placed in a mechanical drier to reduce the moisture to 11 percent. Following a strict post- harvest protocol makes each small individual batch consistent to be combined into a larger lot and a stunning example of innovation. At this stage, an export company called Mastercol provides crucial logistical support for things like warehousing and milling coffee for export to the international market, which provides better income for everyone to reinvest in their farms and strengthen their families’ livelihoods.