Diego Samuel was born in Bolivar, Cauca has dedicated the last 16 years of his life to growing coffee and to also gaining a deep understanding and knowledge on the processing and production of high-end specialty coffee that is almost unparalleled in the unique flavour and profiles produced. As part of a tight knit family Diego works on their farm in Cauca with his family. Together they are involved on the pursuit of continual learning and striving to achieve the next level with their processing. They built their own lab on the farm to firstly understand about cupping and roasting so they could then start to curate their own fermentation protocols for them to begin experimenting with. These experiments and novel approach to coffee have allowed to him to soar and exceed winning several awards from 2015 onwards. As well as being an accomplished cupped Diego has also achieved the CQI level 2 processing course qualification which allowed him to get a base for seeing how cup profiles could be guided depending on microorganisms, ph and temperature. The Villa Esperanza - Paraiso farm in El Tambo, Cauca sits at 1700 masl and covers 27 ha of land and is planted with Castillo, Colombia, Caturra and geisha. The farm focuses on technology and the critical processes that and intricate in producing coffee of this mark. From the selection to the meticulous drying which is done in a way to mitigate the changeable climatic conditions allowing them to replicate coffees of such high standards. The L01 process: Ripe Castillo cherries are hand harvested, sterilised with ozone and fermented anaerobically for 48hrs with a yeast culture before pulping. They're then fermented again for 36hrs with yeast and leachates collected during the first ferment, followed by Diego's signature thermal shock wash. Coffee is then dried in the Eco-Enigma, a dehumidifier dryer Diego and his team designed and built that dries by recirculating low humidity air at a stable temperature.
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