There are many leading coffee producers out there who have significantly changed our understanding of coffee production and helped us grow our appreciation of the hard work that happens at origin to make our favourite beverage possible. Thanks to social media and much bigger PR via importers and roasters, producers from around the world have been able to cultivate their own images, building a fan base amongst customers who are increasingly looking for coffees from particular estates or cooperatives.
Colombian producers, in particular, have done an incredible job and raising their own profile. You might even say that they are stepping into the footsteps of fictional Colombian coffee producer Juan Valdez who first put Colombian coffee on the global map. Among them, Diego Bermudez stands out as someone who could be called a superstar roaster. Though still a humble man whose main concern is advancing specialty coffee processing and helping other producers raise the cupping scores of their coffees, Diego’s name is probably the most well-known around the world.
His farm, El Paraíso is not just where outstanding coffees are grown, it is also where Diego and his team contiously experiment, research and advance the science of coffee processing. Though you mightb be forgiven for not knowing what a thermal shock is or what the difference is between aerobic and anaerobic processing, Diego is well known for pushing the boundaries of what is commonly understood as coffee taste. Over the years, I’ve had the pleasure of drinking many of his coffees and truth be told, I didn’t love all of them. Sometimes, these experiments go too far even for me.
But getting your hands on a coffee by Diego is always a treat and for the upcoming 16th instalment of our famed GEMS series featuring limited edition microlots and experiemental coffees, we have picked a really exciting coffee from Diego that has the name ‘Rose Tea’. It will be roasted by a new roasting partner from Düsseldorf called DAS Cøffe who I recently first got in touch with.
This fine roastery was founded in 2018 by Taoufik Moussa who is still the head roaster and head barista. It was he who first befriended Diego during a visit to Colombia and they have since become close friends. According to green buyer Milad Chaharlangi, Diego really likes how DAS roasts his coffees and despite the fact that most of his lots are always sold out fast, he made a bunch of different coffees available to DAS, which we cupped in Utrecht a few weeks ago.
DAS runs a cute café and roastery in an old ‘Reformhaus’, sort of a local store, in the middle of Düsseldorf and they’re well known for their outstanding coffee menu that is increasingly also known for competition level micro lots. People like Diego himself, Costa Rican Brewers Cup champion Chris Salazar and Lance Hedrick have visited the café and praised it for its quality and ambition. That’s why we’re excited to bring you a very special coffee from DAS in April.
The one that stood out the most was the aforementioned ‘Rose Tea’ lot that has the Castillo variety as its base and was processed with a thermal shock and double anaerobic fermentation. This brings out some unusual floral notes that really elevate this coffee’s intrinsic characteristics and offer a truly exceptional cup profile.
To receive this outstanding coffee, order our GEMS or the Total Package with all coffees including our European and Global roasters selections for April.
Pre-orders close on 15.04.2024 / Ships globally on 20.04.2024
