It’s not often that we have a natural-process coffee in our line. Now that we do, you can bank on its supreme tastiness. We’ve been holding out for this gem.
First, let’s do a little learning. Before coffee beans can be roasted, the layers of the coffee cherry must be removed and the pits (beans) need to dry out. Coffee processing methods are the ways that the coffee cherry is removed from the beans. To fully appreciate why we are geeking out about this coffee, let’s start with a brief explanation of the two most common processing methods – washed & natural.
A washed process coffee means that all of the coffee fruit (mucilage) is removed in water before being dried. When this process method is used, all the fermentation happens at the beginning when the fruit is being washed off and removed. Washed processing can create bright, consistent, and clean flavors. Most of the coffee that we purchase at Stone Creek is washed process. Now, what about natural processing? Natural processing lets the coffee (mucilage and all) dry in the sun before mechanically removing the fruit from the beans. This process method is known for having intense and fruity flavors, but can sometimes be known for over-fermentation. Unlike washed process, fermentation occurs during the drying phase and potentially can over-ferment, which can lead to undesirable flavors in the cup. Because of this, when we taste a naturally processed coffee that is notably sweet, clean, and juicy — we can’t pass it up.
<Half Moon Colombia enters the chat>
Media Luna, which translates from Spanish to “Half Moon,” is located in the San Diego municipality of the Cesar Department of Colombia. Producer Luis Alfonso Padilla Rios, his wife Maria Jhoannaa Paez Rodriguez, and their three children live on the farm. Their 30 hectare farm produces plantain and lulo fruits in addition to coffee and reaches from 1900 to 2000 meters above sea level. This lot of natural processed coffee from Media Luna was fermented in cherry for 36 hours then transferred to raised beds to dry for 20 days. Half Moon embodies all that is sweet and lovely about this type of processing method.
“I started growing coffee together with my father when I was a child,” Luis Alfonso says. He went from helping move coffee in the dryers and giving food to the employees to now owning his own farm. Media Luna has one permanent employee and between 10-15 seasonal employees for harvest. The farm currently partners with Colors of Nature to improve the quality of the coffee they produce. In a mug of Half Moon Colombia, you’ll taste the sweetness of dark berries paired with a viscous, red-tea and honey-like body and hibiscus aromatics.
Click on the button below and pick up a bag of Half Moon before it phases out.
I NEED HALF MOON