Colombia | Esnaider & Augusto Ortega

This lot is a separation of SL-28 from Esnaider Ortega Gomez & Augusto Ortega, harvested on each respective farm in January 2025. Originally a Kenyan variety, this lot is showcasing a lot of the flavors we love from SL-28, with a juicy and refreshing acidity. We are tasting blackberry, green apple and limeade with a mouth watering acidity and ripe fruits.

A handful of producers in San Agustin planted SL-28 a few years ago, and this marks the first harvest that lots were large enough to not be blended into a community lot. Each lot is still very small - Esnaider is tending to only 250 SL-28 trees on his family's farm, Villa Maria. We are so happy to see our friends at Monkaaba flourish and expand their farms to be able to present new expressions from the producers we already love. 

Cherries are picked every 21 days at peak ripeness and floated to remove further defects. The cherries are then depulped and dry fermented for 36 hours in oak tanks. The seeds are rinsed four times and left to drain for 10 hours. Once drained the seeds are dried on raised beds in shade for 20 days.