Colombia Jorge Rojas El Jardin
Fruity Profile | Light roast
Tasting Notes: Lemon, Mango, White Tea
IT ALL STARTS AT THE COFFEE FARM
Finca El Jardin sits high up at over 1800 meters (over 6000 feet!) in the town of Planadas in the Tolima region. Jorge Elías Rojas is a 4th generation Colombian coffee producer that began learning the basics of running a coffee farm at just 13 years old, gaining invaluable knowledge under his mother’s guidance. Inheriting a portion of his father’s farm and acquiring land from a neighboring farmer, Jorge established his own Finca El Jardin. Family participation plays a vital role in Jorge's coffee cultivation. They work in the fields collaboratively, aiming to innovate and produce exceptional coffee.
He also built a wet mill to be able to purchase and process coffee cherries from neighboring farmers, further enhancing his production. We actually will have a coffee later in the year from all women producers which was processed by Jorge at his wet mill! Jorge's dream is to become a recognized producer in his region, and hopes that his son, currently 10 years old, will become the next generation of coffee producers to carry on the legacy.
Processing
Always looking for ways to improve the quality of his coffee, Jorge has developed his own fermentation and drying processes, starting with a very strict selection of coffee cherries by hand to make sure immature and other low-quality beans are removed. The coffee is placed in sealed tanks for 72 hours, then de-pulped (fruit stripped from the seeds) and fermented again for another 38 hours in the same tanks.
This is a honey processed coffee, so after fermentation, the seeds (aka beans) were separated from the fruit, but the residual fruit and sugar that clings to the seeds is not washed away before the seeds are dried. The coffee seeds are shielded by this layer of dried fruit during an extended drying time. The combination of fruit essence and fermentation can create new layers of flavor on top of the flavors intrinsic to the coffee seed.
The first phase of drying takes place in a mechanical dryer for 28 hours at a constant temperature of 30 degrees Celsius. The coffee is then placed in fique bags for 24 hours in a dark place at an average ambient temperature of 20 to 24 degrees, and then dried again in a greenhouse for 48 hours at a temperature of around 30 to 34 degrees. The coffee is left to rest for another 24 hours in fique sacks and then dried in a mechanical dryer for 48 hours at 38 degrees. The coffee is then cooled, stabilized, and packed in bags.
Honey processed coffee drying
Jorge Rojas with seedlings
Jorge Rojas
TRACEABILITY
COUNTRY
Colombia
REGION
Tolima
IMPORTER
The Coffee Quest
VARIETAL
PRODUCER
Jorge Elías Rojas
MILL / WASHING STATION
El Jardin
PROCESSING
Honey
ALTITUDE
1857 meters
DID YOU KNOW
Jorge created his own brand, La Roca, and roasts the coffee himself.
PRICE TRANSPARENCY
$5.75
Price paid by Driftaway
$4.79
Free on Board price
(This is 1.9 x the Fair Trade minimum FOB price)
$24,000 Colombian Pesos per kg dry parchment
Farm Gate price
(This price is 1.66 x higher than the Fair Trade Living Income Reference Price)
$2.51
Fair Trade minimum FOB price per pound
$1.91
Coffee C-Market FOB price per pound
$0.05
Driftaway's World Coffee Research contribution per pound
This coffee travelled 2,530 miles to the Driftaway Coffee roastery in Queens.
Love the coffee? You can share your compliments & tasting observations with the farmers.
WHY DID WE SELECT THIS COFFEE?
We were extremely impressed with the layers of complex fruit and brightness that come through in the cup. Roasting this coffee light in the Fruity profile, we're able to preserve that juicy acidity and fruit flavors.
We really like working with Stephen of The Coffee Quest importers, and were so glad to be able to purchase a new coffee through him. He's on the ground in Colombia with the rest of the Coffee Quest team, visiting farms and working to strengthen relationships with producers. There's always a good amount of information to grab from Stephen, and when we have questions, he's available and patient with answering.
We're excited to showcase the incredible work of Jorge Rojas with this coffee from his own farm, and look forward to future coffees grown and/or processed by him!
AVERAGE CUPPING SCORE
87.38
/100
87.38
SCAA Cupping Score
15 x 69 kg
Bags purchased
1 year
Length of producer relationship
100% (in 2023)
Transparent coffees purchased
HOW DID WE ROAST THIS COFFEE?
This coffee is being roasted by Ian T. from May 20th to June 14th in Brooklyn. We use the Loring Kestrel roaster for this profile. We have strict guidelines for each of the coffee profiles, and this roast has to pass the development time ratio test as measured in real-time by the roasting software, Cropster. Once it does, it is approved for production.
QUALITY CONTROL
We perform Quality Control via a process of coffee tasting called cupping on all of our production roasts once a week at our roastery in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Each cupping is conducted by James M. and Ian T. using standard equipment, and is logged by our Q-certified cupper Ian T. All coffees are evaluated on a scoring scale of 0 to 3.
- 3.0 = exceptional roast - exceeds expectations
- 2.5 = on par with profile - matches expectations
- 2.0 = good roast, but 1 or 2 elements could be improved - needs improvement
- 1.5 or lower = failed - do not ship
PRODUCTION AND SHIPPING
Less than 24 hours after roasting, we bag your coffee in our production facility in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Our production team is led by Anthony and Torie, and supported by a rotating cast of local artists, musicians and independent professionals.
AT YOUR HOME
Brew this coffee with your favorite home brewer and enjoy the taste of incredible coffee! Here are a few tips on how to make the best coffee on each brewer.
View other posts about how to make better coffee at home on our blog Coffeecademy.