For another year in a row comes the return of one of the most ambitious specialty coffee projects that we have come across, and it delights us to experience and share it with you. Leonid Ramirez and his immediate family grow and process an impressive variety of Arabica cultivars. Leonid Ramirez took a risk, selling most of his personal property to invest resources and time into his coffee. Till today we still believe it was very much worth it.

One of 3 unique processes, this coffee is grown at Finca La Cortina de Hierro. Leonid's coffee's inherent high quality and complexity combined with expert processing form spectacular coffees. This lot is the anaerobic washed process of the trio that we are roasting this year. An evolution from the past washed lots we purchased from Leonid.

The washed process demands resources and equipment, but with the right tools and expertise, it rewards us with an exceptionally crisp, delicate coffee. Leonid approached this classic Colombian processing method with a twist. He introduced an anaerobic controlled fermentation when the coffee cherry is whole before pulping and washing, bringing out the most in the coffee's flavour. The skin and fruit are then removed and washed from the coffee cherry, soaked, rinsed, and then put out to dry under the Sun. Washed coffees are notable for their perceived transparency of flavour, or as coffee enthusiasts would describe it, clarity. A 'clean' coffee will express the original notes in the coffee in the most obvious way, accompanied by fine acidity.

Our exporting partners at Cofinet provide immense support to Leonid Ramirez in his production and processing. Offering advice and improving his farming practices, infrastructure, and processing most of his washed and honey lots locally at the farm level. What makes Leonid Ramirez's coffee stand out is that he offers his different Arabica cultivars in their own range of processes. It's rare to find a single farmer's coffee available in unique processes.

From this relationship, Leonid receives an increased income with as much as four times more than the local market rate for his raw and processed coffee. This has allowed Leonid to invest back into the farm and improve his family's living conditions. Relationships like these give meaning to 'great coffee and good people.'