Colombia Bomba de Fruta, or “fruit bomb,” is a naturally processed, fruit-forward Colombian coffee from producer Juan Saldarriaga. Juan began managing his family’s two farms, La Claudina and El Encanto, in 2012. At this time, he began cultivating exciting varietals including Castillos, Caturras, Tabis, Bourbons, Geishas, and SL28s, and others. He has been carefully monitoring how each thrives with an eye to expand production of those that are most successful on his 42 hectares that are dedicated to coffee production. (The remaining 78 hectares are preserved as forest and natural reserve.)
Coffee from both farms is picked block-by-block to separate the harvest by cultivar. Pickers receive a premium for each bag of high-quality beans. Cherry for Colombia Bomba de Fruta is grown and produced at La Claudina. (Additionally, this is where all Juan Saldarriaga’s microlots are processed.) There, the cherry is floated and meticulously hand sorted to remove defects. Next the cherry is fermented for 48 hours. Then the cherry is mechanically dried using a cold dryer, which regulates airflow and humidity, for 72 hours.
More about the farms
La Claudina is located at 1400 – 1800 meters above sea level. Twenty-three hectares of the farm are dedicated to coffee. Primarily Castillo, Tabi and Colombia varietals are cultivated under the shade of native species, which generates an idyllic microclimate and conserves the soil. La Claudina has it’s own wet mill, equipped with two pulpers and traditional fermentation tank, that runs of solar energy. Additionally, the farm employs three permanent workers and 45 seasonal pickers.
El Encanto lies slightly higher, at 1380 to 1800 meters above sea level. The farm is home to a variety garden that displays the wide range of cultivars they grow. Of these, the predominant varieties include Colombia, Castillo, substantial amounts of Tabi, limited quantities of SL 28, Maragogipe, Geisha, Bourbon, Caturra Chiroso, and Castillo Tambo. El Encanto is equipped with a traditional disc pulper and fermentation tanks.
Additionally, El Encanto is home to a newly constructed 200-square-metre shelf system is utilized for drying the coffee. This system allows flexibility to dry the coffee in sun and shelter. It was built to address one of the region’s primary challenges; humidity and temperature. In response, Juan uses raised beds that are constructed under cover and also uses a machine that allows him to control cold airflow, that can be tailored for different drying profiles. Altogether, this meticulous control and sensitivity to varietal characteristics has resulted in a tremendous level of cup quality.
Impact
Juan Saldarriaga was primarily involved with commercial grade coffee until 2013/2014. Guided by curiosity and driven to expand his business, he began experimenting with specialty coffee and processing. His success is a shared one. Juan works with local coffee producers, sharing his experience and knowledge. The hope is to help them improve their production protocols and processing to help dedicated farmers advance their product and grow their businesses.
