This Pacamara from Sergio Ortez is a slight departure from the usual lots we’ve worked with over the years — but fret not — it carries the signature profile that makes all his coffees so unique. Over the past decade or so, Sergio has eschewed traditional and local methods of processing, coming up with a series of processes that created unique and exceptional coffees. He progressively made things more complex, more granular in his sorting, to isolate and perfect the quality of fruit going into the fermentation process. One of outcomes of this tinkering was his signature “Ámbar” process which is an adjustment of anaerobic processing — partially in cherry, partially after depulping. This has led to other rift on this type of processing, and that’s what we have here for you today.
This Pacamara (something Sergio has worked hard to keep up) is from his family’s oldest farm, Casablanca, in the foothills of the Dipilto mountain range — with plots going as high as 1550masl at the farm’s highest points. This lot is essentially a pulped natural that went through an extended anaerobic fermentation before being set out to dry. The result is a “classic” Sergio coffee, with a few twists. Lovely open aromas that are delicate, fruited, and indeed some more aromas of salted caramel.
On the palate there is a clean and juicy body that creates a pleasantly full feeling on the palate. It’s clean and concise, with a twist — the roasted almond and walnut notes lead into a subtle umami note that reminds us of dashi.
