Instagram

El Fénix

Name: El Fénix
Brand: Red Bank Coffee Roasters
Price: 14.0 GBP
Availability: InStock

£14.00

Tax included.

More information

Behind the scenes

Sweet, vibrant and complex, with notes of lychee, rosehip and pink grapefruit.

Origin

El Fenix, Calarcá, Quindio
Country

Colombia
Altitude

1,680-1,800 MASL
Process

Anoxic Washed
Variety

Pink Bourbon
Notes

Lychee, Rosehip, Pink Grapefruit

54°19'46.3"N

2°46'21.6"W
54°19'46.3"N

2°46'21.6"W
54°19'46.3"N

2°46'21.6"W
54°19'46.3"N

2°46'21.6"W
54°19'46.3"N

2°46'21.6"W

54°19'46.3"N

2°46'21.6"W
54°19'46.3"N

2°46'21.6"W
54°19'46.3"N

2°46'21.6"W
54°19'46.3"N

2°46'21.6"W
54°19'46.3"N

2°46'21.6"W

We've been patiently awaiting the arrival of this incredible coffee ever since Tom first cupped it at El Fénix back in November, and we're delighted to finally be able to share it with you.

El Fénix is our importing partner Raw Material's rare varieties farm, and education centre in Colombia's Quindio region. It is managed by the incredibly talented Miguel Fajardo Mendoza who, aside from growing and processing incredible coffees, also offers cultivation, processing and fermentation courses at the farm, with a view to sharing knowledge and improving quality and productivity in the wider community.

One of the techniques developed by Miguel is the anoxic 'water pillow' technique. This involves placing the hand-picked and floated ripe coffee cherries in a deep-cleaned fermentation tank, then covering them with a sheet, which is then submerged with cold water. The seal created by the water pressing onto the sheet creates a vacuum effect on the coffee below, creating an anoxic environment for fermentation.

The water and the sheet also act as a heat exchange, allowing the heat built up during fermentation to transfer to the water and evaporate away, allowing a more stable fermentation that is controlled at around 25 degrees celsius. If the temperature falls too low, hot water is added to the water pillow.

Once the fermentation is complete, the coffee is then pulped and washed, before being laid out on raised beds to dry for 2-3 weeks.

This technique is inexpensive to implement, and easy to replicate, and has also been used to great effect by our friends at Muraho Trading Co in Rwanda, most recently at Rugali.

This particular coffee stood out on the table when Tom cupped it at El Fénix in November, and again it outshone a table of geshas at a Raw Material cupping at the Tate Britain hosted by Coffee By Tate back in March.

In the cup it is sweet, vibrant and complex, with notes of lychee, rosehip and pink grapefruit. We absolutely love it, and hope you do too!

Follow us on Instagram

El Fénix

Things we've been up to