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Vinka Sidra Natural
CONCORD GRAPE | LYCHEE | HONEY
Mafer and Carlos continue to hit it out of the park! This time, with a very clean natural process Sidra. The natural anaerobic fermentation was controlled with the care and precision used in the wine world. Maria Fernanda “Mafer” Tapia and her husband Carlos are microbiologists turned coffee farmers. They have been producing coffee for five years, and this is their second harvest. Alright, before I get geeky, let me just say this is a great natural processed coffee. Why? Now you gotta read. The next bit is pretty intense, so if you want to skip it, that’s fine, you just need to know this is one of the best and most transparent naturals we tasted in Ecuador this year.
This Sidra underwent open-environment fermentation using natural oxidation, a semi-dry processing method inspired by traditional practices but modified by Carlos and Mafer to add quality control measures.
The coffee cherries were picked and rigorously sorted to achieve a perfectly and evenly ripe final selection of cherries. The coffee was immediately transferred to raised drying beds and dried over 15-25 days on shaded raised beds.
The beds are positioned in a natural wind tunnel location, ensuring constant airflow that promotes even dehydration while shade netting maintains surface temperatures below 35°C to prevent thermal degradation of flavor compounds and protect the integrity of the living embryo. All this attention to detail by Carlos and Mafer means one thing: your coffee will taste better!
This omniroast has been optimized for filter, but a well trained barista will definitely be able to pull tasty shots with it.
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MICROBIOLOGISTS KNOW HOW TO FERMENT!
Every once in a while I experience something so unexpected that I find it hard to believe and I begin to change a preconceived notion. I find this self development one of the coolest parts of being a coffee buyer. Two years ago, I experienced it with Maria Fernanda and Carlos’ coffee, a natural processed Sidra from their farm: Vinka.
OK, so my preconceived notion is that the first harvest of any coffee is going to taste average - it will give me a hint of what it’s going to be, but the plant needs 2, 3, 4 harvests to really, truly, impress. Well, this year, I tasted their first harvest of Sidra and it blew my mind. Let me just clarify one thing - the coffee underwent very heavy anaerobic natural processing, so this definitely helped the coffee reach its super high level, but nevertheless, I have never tasted a first harvest that remotely resembles the intensity of flavour of this one. It goes to show the power of controlled coffee processing!
The coffee itself was a Sidra that was planted in 2020 in their farm in Vilcabamba, near the municipality of Loja in the south of Ecuador. The farm sits at an elevation of 1660m and the highlight of the farm is the amount of native trees that are planted in and amongst the coffee. This is something that Maria Fernanda and Carlos are super passionate about - biodiversity, shade, creating soils that are rich in microorganisms and provide natural food for the coffee trees.
Maria Fernanda and Carlos are both biology majors who like to do a lot of research, so the coffee farm is their research haven. From biodiversity and soil health to microbiology in the coffee processing, they hope to study and eventually share many of their findings with their local community. Maria Fernanda and Carlos’s goal is to become leaders in sustainable and science driven coffee production. I love this simple goal that is so crazy full of challenges. They’re passionate about making an impact on their community, learn, share knowledge and continue to find ways to produce coffee while creating symbiosis with the environment.
– Sebastian
