Description
MEET THE PRODUCER | Several years ago, Stefan Muller purchased a plot of abandoned farmland from his father-in-law. Looking out over the landscape then, he could already envision the rows and rows of productive coffee trees, thriving under the shade of other native crops such as avocado, chirimoya, and orange trees. Stefan and his wife built that vision from the ground up, planting and nurturing over ten varieties of coffee on the land that is now called Hacienda Bajo Mono. Today, Stefan's vision continues to expand and evolve as he enlists the help of his grown children for things like marketing, and as he works to create his own sustainable fertilizer, using coffee pulp leftover from processing as the principal ingredient.
TRUST THE PROCESS | This lot, grown under the watchful eye of Stefan at Hacienda Baja Mono, has been processed in collaboration with our friends at Creativa Coffee District (CCD). Known for their excellence in processing, CCD endeavors to "spark collaboration in the coffee industry and beyond," and we have been the grateful recipients of many of those collaborations since they began working in Panama in 2018. Each lot of ripe cherries arriving at their mill is assigned to one of four carefully constructed fermentation designs, each with varying levels of fermentation impact.
Stefan's beautiful Gesha lot underwent a processing method known as Intrinsic Cherry, which is CCD's ode to the classic natural cup profile. This method features the lowest fermentation level coming out of CCD's wet mill, and we would classify the resultant cup of coffee as having a medium-plus fermentation impact.
After being handpicked at peak ripeness, the coffee cherries are floated to remove impurities before undergoing a short period of climate stabilization to neutralize metabolic activity. After this, the coffee goes through two rounds of fermentation: first, a 32-hour period of anaerobic fermentation in special, temperature-controlled bags, followed by a shorter period of mucilage fermentation to enhance flavor development. Finally, the coffee beans are spread out on large patios for slow-drying, a process which can take up to 20 days before optimal moisture content (10.2%) is achieved.
TAKE A SIP | When hot, this coffee showcases florality (like lilies) and tropical notes, such as pineapple, mango, and complex citrus. Combined with the berry-like flavors that are also present at this temperature, the whole experience is reminiscent of sipping red sangria.
As the coffee approaches a pleasantly warm temperature, acidity and florality both increase, and the tropical notes reach their apex (think: pineapple, mango, and lychee). It's rather clean at this temperature, reminding us less of sangria and more of a fruit-infused black tea.
When cool, acidity peaks as the texture softens, and the coffee is clean as a whistle at this temperature. Fresh cherry and an apparent tartness give us the impression of cherry limeade, while that gloriously stubborn pineapple note lingers throughout.
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Origin | Boquete, Panama
Producer | Stefan Muller
Farm | Hacienda Bajo Mono
Process | Intrinsic Cherry
Variety | Gesha
Elevation | 1500 masl
BLACK LABEL ARCHIVE
All of our Black Label releases this year in one location.
So go ahead, pull that coffee from the freezer and get brewing.
