Driftaway Limited x Luis Alberto Balladarez: Natural Process
Light roast
Fragrance: Tropical Fruit
Acidity: Stonefruit
Body: Mouth-coating
Aftertaste: Sustained
Sold in a Box Set with the Honey and Washed processes for a limited time. More info here!
THE STORY BEHIND THIS COFFEE
This Natural processed coffee from Finca Bendición is part of a Box Set of three coffees: each was processed in a different way at the same mill in northwestern Nicaragua by Luis Alberto Balladarez.
We’ve roasted coffee from Luis Alberto for three years in a row, and we’re so excited to present his take on three different processing methods: Washed, Honey and Natural.
How a coffee tastes isn’t only determined by its varietal, the altitude at which it’s grown or how it’s roasted - a huge factor that influences a coffee’s flavor is how it’s processed. Processing is what transforms coffee from being a fruit into the dried seed that we roast, and Luis Alberto's processing techniques and experiments are some of the best in the industry.
IT ALL STARTS AT THE COFFEE FARM
Fourth generation coffee producer and agronomist engineer, Luis Alberto Balladarez’s processing techniques and experiments are some of the best in the industry, and he’s won multiple national awards in recognition of this. He’s clearly no stranger to producing exceptional coffees, and has distributed each year’s winnings among the workers of his farms, Fincas Un Regalo de Dios, and the farm where this coffee was grown, La Bendicion.
Finca La Bedición is located in the Dipilto-Jalapa mountain range in the northeast of the department of Nueva Segovia and sits at an elevation of approximately 1,300 meters. In total, the farm is 252 acres, with around 105 acres planted in coffee. Of those 105 acres in coffee, Luis grows the following varietals: Caturra, Red Catuai, Hybrids, Villa Sarchi, Pacamara, Maracaturra, H-3, Marselleza, SL-34 and Java.
The farm has a rich, biodiverse environment of fauna and flora, with an abundance of broad-leaved trees and conifer species. All of this together yields optimal coffee growing conditions.
Throughout Coffee Quest's collaboration with Luis Alberto, he has always shared that the issue of climate change is an important matter to him. Working in the agricultural sector he can see the effect of climate change on the maturation and fermentation of his plants. That is why he uses organic fertilizers and filters.
In addition to his award-winning coffees from his own farms, he helps connect farmers to importers and roasters by purchasing their crop locally and offering it to his clients. The fact that he owns and manages his own successful farms make him unique among other mill owners, and is one of the reasons so many other farmers like these trust him to process their coffees.
Finca La Bedición
Ripe Pacamara varietal fruit
Finca La Bedición
Ripe Pacamara varietal fruit
Pacamara coffee tree
WHAT IS PROCESSING?
Coffee beans as we know them aren't actually beans at all, but seeds of a fruit. Once coffee fruit has been harvested, it needs to be processed to make it ready for roasting: processing is what transforms coffee from being a fruit into the dried seed that we roast.
Great care must be taken with every step of processing, or the coffee can drastically lower in quality, and in some cases the fruit can spoil. Some producers have learned that extending the craft of processing can express special flavors in the coffee: all of this requires skill and experience, but also creativity and imagination.
Processing coffee is almost culinary, as all the same aspects apply - controlling time and temperature to develop sugars and acids - but on a grand scale and over a longer period of time than cooking. In most cases, the sun is used to dry the coffee, but there are many variations on how you prepare the coffee to be dried.
Because the length of drying time and where it’s dried have extreme effects on flavor, coffee millers all over the world have invented tools for processing better and better tasting coffee. Luis Alberto Balladarez has collected many of these tools at his mill in Nicaragua.
This is a NATURAL PROCESSED coffee.
For natural processing, the coffee fruit is dried intact with the seeds still inside, like a raisin. Once fully dried, the fruit is cracked open and the seeds are removed. Natural processed coffee beans have the most contact with fruit sugars so therefore retain the most fruit-like flavors, and because of the extra fermentation of sugars found in the fruit pulp, natural coffees tend to be sweeter than their washed and honey counterparts.
Flavors of La Bedición Natural
Monitoring humidity and temperature both around the drying beds and inside the fruit, Luis Alberto was able to develop similar stone fruit acidity to the Honey, but with a tropical fruit fragrance and heavier body due to the higher sugar content.
The other processes
Washed: The seeds are separated from the fruit after harvest, and then undergo a fermentation process (under water, though sometimes starting dry) where yeast from the air eats at the remaining fruit material (mucilage) and sugar on the surface of the seeds. After being washed, the seeds are dried.
The washed process reveals the most flavors of the origin (or terroir) of any process. It truly allows us to taste the overarching character of the growing region and the genetic family from which a coffee is derived.
Honey: The seeds are separated from the fruit after harvest, but the residual fruit and sugar that clings to the seeds is not washed away before the seeds are dried. The coffee beans are shielded by this layer of dried fruit during an extended drying time.
The combination of fruit essence and fermentation happening with honey processing can create new layers of flavor on top of the flavors intrinsic to the coffee seed. Honey processed coffee tends to be a middle ground between washed and natural processing flavors, but can also be intensely bright.
Coffee fruit being transported
Coffee fruit freshly picked
Notes for processing coffees
Luis Gadiel, Luis Arturo's son, checking on drying coffees
Outside drying patio at B. Las Segovias - note that some of the coffees are covered with tarps to control temperature.
Natural processed coffee drying
Luis Gadiel & Luis Alberto
Humidity and temperature are closely monitored while coffee is drying.
Each coffee at B. Las Segovias is meticulously categorized and labeled.
Luis Gadiel, Stephen from Coffee Quest, Luis Alberto
Luis Alberto & Luis Gadiel
Coffee drying under shade at Beneficio Las Segovias.
Luis Alberto and Luis Gadiel tasting (cupping) multiple coffees.
Outside drying patio at B. Las Segovias - note that some of the coffees are covered with tarps to control temperature.
THE MILL
Luis Alberto built Beneficio Las Segovias in 2005. He maintains a closed environment for drying coffee, utilizing nets for shade and maintaining quite a low temperature. Luis Alberto and his staff have one main strategy: keeping the conditions of the coffee (both the external environment and inside each bean) as stable as possible during its processing.
GENETICS
Coffee is the seed of a fruit! And just like apple trees, coffee comes in many different varieties (or varietals), which can taste as different from each other as a Red Delicious and a Granny Smith.
This Natural is the Pacamara varietal. Pacamara is a portmanteau of the two plant names it is derived from: Pacas and Maragogype (pronounced MAH-RAH-GO-HEE-PAY).
Maragogype is a large, tree-like coffee plant that produces very large coffee beans. Thought to be discovered in Brazil originally, it is now more commonly grown in Central America. As it has been cultivated by farmers over the decades since its discovery, plant hybrids have been made in order to capitalize on production, resistance to disease/pests, and flavor. All the hybrids have inherited a large bean size as one of their traits.
Both of these different plants produce delicious coffee. Pacamara was most likely hybridized to make Maragogype plants well adjusted to the climates that farmers wish to grow them. The hybrids retain much of the flavor and size of the beans, but the plant becomes much smaller and easier to harvest from.
BREW TIPS
We roasted all three of the coffees in this Box Set very light to preserve their complex acidity and range of fruit flavors. While they can each taste incredible using varying techniques, we found using slightly different water temperatures, grind sizes and brew times allowed each to shine.
Our preferred way to brew them is pour over or electric drip. The acidity and nuance of all three coffees really comes through when using a paper filter, and by holding back more of the coffee oils and sediment from the brew, you’ll taste more distinct flavors. As always, filtered water and a burr grinder will yield the best results.
This Natural processed coffee tastes more balanced and sweet when we limit extraction. A bit of a coarser grind and lower water temperature is perfect for avoiding bitter or cloying flavors.
GENERAL RECOMMENDED SPECS
Coffee to water ratio 1:17
205°F / 96C (~3 min off boil)
RECOMMENDED FOR POUR OVER / DRIP
Medium-coarse grind | 30s bloom
3:15 - 3:30 min total brew time
But don’t just take our word for it - feel free to experiment! Depending on what type/material of your pour over, and the mineral makeup of your water, you may find you need to adjust the specifics, but the relative differences in solubility between the three will stay true.
TRACEABILITY
COUNTRY
Nicaragua
PRODUCER
Luis Alberto Balladerez
DRYING TIME
25 - 30 days
REGION
Dipilto
VARIETAL
Pacamara
PROCESSING
Natural
ALTITUDE
1301 meters
IMPORTER
Coffee Quest
PROCESSED BY
Luis Alberto Baladarez at Beneficio Las Segovias
PRICE TRANSPARENCY
$6.20
Price paid by Driftaway
$4.75
Farm Gate
$2.46
Fair Trade price per pound
$2.14
Coffee C-Market price per pound
$0.05
Driftaway's World Coffee Research contribution per pound
This coffee travelled 3,652 miles to the Driftaway Coffee roastery in Queens.
Love the coffee? You can share your compliments & tasting observations with the farmers.
AVERAGE CUPPING SCORE
87.25
/100
87.25
SCAA Cupping Score
2 x 70 kg
Bags purchased
3 years
Length of producer relationship
100% (in 2022)
Transparent coffees purchased
HOW DID WE ROAST THIS COFFEE?
This coffee is being roasted by Ian T. from 23rd September to 1st October 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 from home as per our Covid-19 shelter in place guidelines. Each cupping is conducted by Q-certified cupper Ian T. using standard equipment, and is logged. 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 Dave and Trae, 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.