This Pineapple Washed process begins with the creation of the fermentation culture. 80 liters of the culture is separated to be fed with pineapple fruit & a sweetener like panela or molasses. The pineapple contributes flavor to the culture, while the sweetener energizes the fermentation & brings the culture’s sugar content to a level that matches the degrees Brix of the coffee that will be processed. This initial fermentation of mother culture & fruit takes 190 hours to reach the appropriate degrees Brix & pH value for coffee processing. Coffee cherries are measured for sugar content as soon as they reach the mill. Cherries are then floated to remove impurities before being pulped & put into a 200 liter sealed tank. The 80 liter culture is added to the sealed tank & fermented for 150 hours. The team keeps measurements to ensure that the environment doesn’t fall below 6 degrees Brix, or below a pH of 4. The coffee is then dried for 2–3 days in direct sunlight & for 15–18 days under shaded canopies until it reaches 10–11% humidity. Finca Monteblanco, located high along the roads of Vereda La Tocora in the San Adolfo municipality above Pitalito, is a family farm managed by Rodrigo Sanchez Valencia that began with his grandfather. Monteblanco’s 18 hectares sit on the crest of a hill, with the wetmill & drying facilities at the top & slopes of coffee planted below. Rodrigo that farms would win cupping competitions one year & then never again, so he decided to investigate how to produce quality coffee consistently. This led him to explore the trees planted on Monteblanco, where he discovered Purple Caturra, a Caturra whose cherries ripen to a deep purple. Rodrigo is proud that he & the team that works in the fields & at the mill have reached the goal of achieving consistent quality. Finca Monteblanco produces microlots with each harvest that serve as competition coffees around the world & consistently produces delicious coffees that appear year-round on café menus & retail shelves.