Colombia El Encanto

This natural Colombian coffee from El Encanto offers classic flavours like milk chocolate, with a touch of dark berry in the finish. It works well both as espresso and filter.

El Encanto is one of two farms managed by Juan Saldarriaga in the city of Bolivar, Antioquia. Sitting at 1,380–1,800 masl, the farm spans 26 hectares dedicated to coffee cultivation and is exceptionally well maintained — it even features a variety garden showcasing the wide range of cultivars grown on the property. These include Variedad Colombia, Castillo, Tabi, SL28, Maragogipe, Geisha, Bourbon, Caturra Chiroso, and Castillo Tambo.

The farm is equipped with a traditional disc pulper with a separator and fermentation tanks. For drying, a newly constructed 200-square-metre shelf system allows coffee to be moved freely between sun and shade.

Drying is one of the key challenges in this region due to high humidity and temperature. To address this, Juan has built covered raised-bed drying facilities and invested in a cold-air drying machine with software-controlled temperature and airflow — allowing tailored drying profiles for each variety. These improvements have had a significant impact on cup quality.

Harvesting
El Encanto conducts a single annual harvest from September to January. At the end of each harvest, trees are stripped to prioritise quality over quantity.

Picking
A dedicated person oversees pickers on the farm to maintain quality control. Picking is done block by block, with batches kept separate by cultivar. Pickers receive a premium for each bag of high-quality cherries. Cherries intended for natural processing are hand-sorted carefully before drying.

Pulping and Fermentation
After cherry selection, a water soak removes any floaters before processing begins. Traditional disc pulping with a separator is used for greens. For larger quantities (around 5,000 kg per day), dry fermentation in tanks with water rinsing every 6–8 hours takes approximately 24 hours. Smaller and experimental batches are extended to 48 hours by introducing a new batch after the initial 24 hours.