Gilberto Rojas - Finca La Florida

ABOUT THE FARM AND FARMER

The team at Apex Coffee began working with Gilberto Rojas in 2016 the year after he took 2nd place in the prestigious Cup of Excellence Competition, where the best coffees from across the country are tasted by an international panel to reward the highest quality lots of the year. As a result Finca La Florida has been distinguished as a leader in Colombian farming, largely due to Gilberto’s attention to detail and commitment to pushing the boundaries of coffee quality. 

La Florida is a relatively large farm with a very productive 8 HA resulting in around 250-300 bags per harvest. In order to maximise the yield of each crop Gilberto’s team will do day lot separations from 7 passes of the trees, selecting only the ripest cherries each time.

While Gilberto is one of Apex Coffee’s longest standing partners it was in the pandemic when Apex decided to focus on deepening relationships with key producers even further and looking for ways to maximise their impact during one of the most challenging times for coffee production. It was at this moment that they proposed creating a high quality selection to be sent for Ethyl Acetate decaffeination in a local plant.

ABOUT THE COFFEE

Gilberto produces both red and yellow Colombia varietal at La Florida. The ripe cherries are selectively picked in multiple passes of each plant. The pulped seeds are fermented for 36 to 42 hours before washing and drying the coffee on raised beds under parabolic screens for a slow and controlled 28 day drying time.  

Ethyl Acetate is an alcohol solvent derived from sugar cane that removes the caffeine from the coffee before being dried to a stable moisture content for shipping. Gilberto and his team cup their red and yellow colombia varietal lots after harvest and processing and select lots with high acidity to be sent for decaffeination. The decaffeination process in addition to removing the caffeine can soften the intensity of the acidity, bringing these bright lots into better balance resulting in a decaffeinated coffee that maintains the cup qualities of the varietal and terroir. 

CUP TASTING NOTES

CRANBERRY, BROWN SUGAR, ALMOND

CUP PROFILE

This decaf maintains an excellent balance of sweetness and acidity with bright cranberry and stone fruit, brown sugar sweetness and roasted almond in the finish. Medium weight with a creamy mouthfeel and clean finish. The roast profile is an omni-roast ideal for both espresso and filter coffee.