Colombia Juicy Passionfruit | El Vergel

Forest Coffee's Passion Fruit Honey Process brings together cherries sourced from producers throughout Tolima, Huila, and Caldas, then processed at El Vergel Estate. The process starts with hand sorting to select only ripe cherries and remove impurities like leaves or stones. The cherries then undergo a 24-hour pre-fermentation in plastic bags, followed by 24 hours of fermentation in cherry.

After depulping, the beans are co-fermented anaerobically for 5 days with their mucilage, combined with yeast and passion fruit, boosting the honey process even further.

Finally, the coffee is dried mechanically for 10 days to ensure even moisture levels, then stabilized for 5 days in GrainPro bags.

The result is a vibrant, intensely aromatic cup with notes of passionfruit, pomegranate, citrus, and brown sugar. It's expressive without losing balance—a great example of how innovative processing can create entirely new flavor experiences.

What is Honey Process?

Refers to the step in which the fruit skin is removed, but some of the sticky fruit layer (called mucilage) is left on the seed while it dries. The result is often a sweeter, fruitier cup with more body than a washed coffee while maintaining clarity and balance.

What is Anaerobic + Yeast Inoculation?

Fermenting in an environment without oxygen to create deeper fruit flavors, enhanced sweetness, and a more expressive cup. The intentional addition of specific yeast strains during fermentation can help further guide flavor development - much like is often done in beer or wine production.

El Vergel

Finca El Vergel is one of the oldest single estates in the Tolima region of Colombia, run today by second generation producers Elias and Shady Bayter with the help of their mother Martha. Unlike many smallholder farms in the country, known for their modest-sized plots of around 5 hectares, this estate boasts over 300 hectares of land, of which coffee is planted on almost 100 hectares. 

However, much in keeping with the Colombian way of doing things, this space is divided into small plots where unique altitudes and microclimates inform the way coffee is treated, so that the results of each batch can be more tightly controlled (a trademark characteristic of specialty coffee).

Forest Coffee

Founded in 2019, Forest Coffee was created to connect Colombian producers directly with international roasters while pushing quality through innovation, education, and sustainability.

Their work centers around El Vergel Estate in Tolima, where new processing techniques are developed and refined before being shared across a broader network of producing families throughout Colombia.

Today, Forest Coffee works with more than 250 coffee-growing families across multiple regions, helping producers access specialty markets while maintaining transparency and fair pricing.

Expect to taste:

tropical, vibrant, medium sweet. Not overly cofermented. Notes of passionfruit, strawberry, watermelon, pear, honey, apricot

View our standard brew guides for a quick jump off point!

More coffee specific recipes coming soon