Colombia Bomba de Fruta, or “fruit bomb,” is a naturally processed, fruit-forward Colombian coffee from producer Juan Saldarriaga. Juan began managing his family’s two farms, La Claudina and El Encanto, in 2012. At this time, he began cultivating exciting varietals including Castillos, Caturras, Tabis, Bourbons, Geishas, and SL28s, and others. He has been carefully monitoring how each thrives with an eye to expand production of those that are most successful on his 42 hectares that are dedicated to coffee production. (The remaining 78 hectares are preserved as forest and natural reserve.)
Coffee from both farms is picked block-by-block to separate the harvest by cultivar. Pickers receive a premium for each bag of high-quality beans. Cherry for Colombia Bomba de Fruta is grown and produced at La Claudina. (Additionally, this is where all Juan Saldarriaga’s microlots are processed.) There, the cherry is floated and meticulously hand sorted to remove defects. Next the cherry is fermented for 48 hours. Then the cherry is mechanically dried using a cold dryer, which regulates airflow and humidity, for 72 hours.
