Very experimental Competition Coffee for filter methods. Extremely fermented, fancy, sweet, and fruity. A taste experience! Fierce on the nose, sweet and strong on the palate – very similar to our former Drima Zede. Fresh from harvest. The new Volcan Valley brand uses the processes Ninety Plus has spent years developing.
 
DEGUSTATION NOTES Fig, Dark Chocolate, Clove
VARIETY Mixed Heirloom
PRODUCER Volcan Valley 
COUNTRY Panama
TERROIR Gesha Estates
GROWING ALTITUDE 1500 m.a.s.l.
FERMENTATION Thermolic TM Process
QUALITY SCORE 90 points
CONTENTS 100 gr
 
Story
This lot was harvested on 14-Feb-2023 from our Estate #94, located on the northern side of Gesha Estates at an elevation of 1,540 meters, with a total area covered of 1.09 ha. The trees on this estate are seven years old. Processing coffee is a twist on our ThermolicTM process, which lasts 150 hours. Coffee was dried for 32 days in Red Room into an uneven formation.
 
About Volcan Valley Coffee
Drawing on decades of producing championship-level coffees at Ninety Plus, Volcan Valley works with volume gesha, caturra, catuai, SL28, Pacamara, and other
varieties (some from The Barú Project but primarily from neighboring coffee producers in the region) to add value to coffee cherries through its innovative and often proprietary processing methodologies, much like a great winemaker creates wine from grapes sourced from others that benefit from good farming practices in attractive terroirs. In addition to scaling the volume and making competition-level coffee more accessible, Volcan Valley is developing a coffee processing center to showcase its work while offering co-processing services to neighboring coffee producers who don’t own facilities or the necessary equipment to support Volcan Valley’s methods.
 
Processing Style: ThermolicTM
ThermolicTM processing is a method of coffee processing that utilizes heat to accelerate the breakdown of sugars and other complex proteins in the coffee mucilage. This process starts with freshly picked coffee cherries, which are gradually heated to reach the desired temperature using the sun or other means.
During the ThermolicTM process, the coffee cherries are exposed to warm or hot temperatures, usually around 30 to 50 degrees Celsius, in an oxygen-controlled environment. The oxygen-controlled environment can significantly impact the flavor profile of the resulting coffee. The oxygen levels during the processing stage can also significantly impact the flavor profile of the resulting coffee. By controlling the oxygen available during fermentation, the bacteria present in the coffee cherries can produce unique flavors and aromas not found in coffee processed using traditional methods. Once the processing stage is complete, seeds are placed to dry into a single-layer formation not exceeding 2cm in thickness in raised African beds in the Red Room. Afterward, seeds are placed on the top level until they reach 18% humidity and then gradually moved to the lower levels to extend drying time. They are agitated
every 2 hours during the daytime to ensure homogeneous drying and avoid hot spots during the drying period. Typically, drying takes 20-25 days until coffee in parchment reaches 11.5% humidity.
The resulting coffee beans are known for their unique and complex flavor profile, often with notes of tropical fruit, citrus, and even wine-like characteristics. ThermolicTM processing can produce a coffee that specialty coffee enthusiasts covet, as it offers a unique and distinctive flavor profile not found in coffee processed using traditional methods.
The first coffee produced using this method was the 2013 Simeon Abbay from Shakiso Estates in Ethiopia, used two years later to win the 2015 World Brewers Cup, in Stockholm.