El Crucero by Ana Mustafa - Colombia Washed

Roast Profile:- Medium/Light -

Filter roast

Back for another year, the much loved and well-anticipated El Crucero from our wonderful Ana Mustafa!

This coffee from Ana's farm is a fed-batch washed coffee, the coffee is separated into batches by harvest day. The first batch is put into a hopper and left for 24 hours where it starts to marinate. The cherries are then de-pulped and dropped into a fermentation tank. The second batch underwent the same process before being added to the tank. The sugars in the second batch becomes fuel for the bacteria of the first batch which aids fermentation. This process is repeated 4 or 5 times to allow a long fermentation process. It creates a really fruity, almost sparkling coffee.

The amazing attention to detail and passion behind this coffee and the people who have produced is why this coffee really holds a special place for me.

Expect notes of Blackcurrant, Vanilla and Lime :)

A little about Ana Mustafa:

Ana runs the LaREB cooperative with the support of Herbert and other great producers with the aim to support smaller or less experienced members with production advice and professional quality control. They also export coffee directly from the farmers which secures the supply chain and transfers more value back to producers.

Anas’ coffees with LaREB contribute to 40% of the money and 35% of the coffees produced by LaREB!

I first started chatting with Herbert about 6 years ago, about coffee roasting I think as LaREB were setting up their new roaster in their lab in Colombia and since then we've kept in touch about all things coffee (and whisky!). At the end of February 2020 just before the pandemic hit Herbert was doing a tour of Europe for LaREB and we finally got to sit down together in person for a night in Edinburgh where Herbert spoke to us about the amazing work LaREB is doing for the coffee growing community in Colombia.

Ana works with such innovation and attention to detail to be able to produce this beautiful washed coffee using a ‘fed-batch’ technique. 

Variety | Castillo  

Process | Fed-batch Washed

Altitude | 1550 - 1650 MASL

*Our coffee is freshly roasted each Monday and orders are dispatched on Wednesday and Friday with Royal Mail 24. Please allow 1-2 business days for your order to arrive.