A Garage favourite returns!

Long-term Garage subscribers might remember La Joyeria from Colombia with its silky dark chocolate depth and sweet raspberry finish. Well, you’ll be please to know it’s back! This coffee is from the Santa Barbara Estate- a collection of 5 sister farms that lie across three neighbouring, geographical regions- Santa Barbara, Fredonia and Amaga. It is particularly special as Garage founders Luke and Alice managed to squeeze in a trip to the estate earlier this year before the world became a different place. What a privilege it was to be standing right where the magic happens! Luke & Alice are pictured here with Pedro Echavarria Jnr (centre) who’s family owns and runs the farm, along with managing their wet mill with a blend of art, industrial rigor and scientific curiosity. La Joyeria actually means ‘the jewel’ and this coffee is totally worthy of that name. The lots are grown at an average altitude of 1700 meters and are 100% Colombia variety. Each lot is composed of two days worth of picking; the coffee picked on the second day is added to the first after 24 hours fermentation and then left to ferment in the tanks for a further 24 hours. In this method of fermentation, the second batch raises the ph level of the fermentation tank, permitting longer fermentation times without the acetic acid produced by bacteria at a lower ph level. La Joyería is processed at the main mill on the Santa Bárbara farm. The mill can process up to 7,000 bags of coffee; however, La Joyería makes up a very small percentage of this volume. It is also stored and milled separately from the volume production. Santa Bárbara Estate employs 60 people all year round, who on average earn 30% above the minimum wage. Half of these also receive free housing within the farm for themselves and their families. A further 1,200 pickers are hired during the main harvest, comprised mainly of farmers from around the Santa Bárbara Estate who pick coffee to supplement their income. Workers are generally long-term employees and have been with the company for more than 10 years. The Santa Bárbara Estate also runs an extensive scholarship and financial aid program for worker’s children as well as helping long-standing employees to acquire their own piece of land upon retirement. At Garage we recommend brewing this fine Colombian as cafetiere or Aeropress to bring out the fullness of the body and accentuate that raspberry sweetness! Get your very own bag here: https://www.garageroasted.co.uk/collections/single-origins-1/products/lajoyeriacolombia