La Naranja

Elmer Tineo Mendoza owns 6 hectares of coffee farm in the El Diamante area of Jaén. The Tineo family delivers the cherry to the family home, where they share a small pulper and fermentation tank. Don Elmer's farm has large areas under shade, and with his excellent management of pruning, avoiding herbicides, and his ongoing annual renovations to improve trees affected by diseases, he has cultivated a beautiful farm full of fruit trees and moist soil.

Over the years, with the premiums he has earned from his specialty coffees, he has built a three-story structure with raised drying beds, covered like a greenhouse. For processing, cherries are rested for 24 hours after harvesting in plastic barrels. Any floaters are removed in the tank, and the remaining cherries are then depulped and fermented in plastic bags for 36 hours. After fermentation, the coffee is dried on the beds, which typically takes 11 days. This process results in a juicy, fruit forward cup that reminds us strongly of raspberries, violets and fresh apples.