El Diviso Tabi & Java, Colombia

Only a few farms have come to fame so exponentially in such a short time like El Diviso, and it is now a household name for barista and brewer competitions on the world stage. Nestor Lasso was only 25 years old when he took over his family farm with his brother, Adrian. El Diviso was founded by Jose Uribe, their grandfather. Finca El Diviso is not only a farm, but a place for discovery and experimentation into new varieties, farming, and processing that push the boundaries of sensory experience in specialty coffee. El Diviso is celebrated for their impeccably crafted microlots, from 15 hectares of farmland dedicated to their pursuit of coffee excellence.

Nestor and Adrian Lasso frequently collaborate with local and international experts, and are part of Colombia's next generation of young coffee farmers investing their time and energy into high-quality coffee as a sustainable career and way of life.

El Diviso is located near Pitalito of Huila in southwest Colombia, and at a high altitude up to 1800 MASL. Although being a coffee producer is not a sought-after career among younger Colombians, common beliefs of farming being reduced to a poorly paying job that is physically demanding haven't stopped Nestor Lasso's passion for coffee and production. After participating in a government-subsidized farming training program, Nestor decided to combine his efforts with his brother and a neighbouring farmer and friend to plant different varieties and create unique microlots through specialised processing. The fruits of their research and labour have won coffee competitions around the world.

This lot is a combination of Tabi and Java from El Diviso, among the several other varieties that are being cultivated. Tabi was born from a research lab as a leaf rust-resistant hybrid, while retaining high cup quality potential from its Bourbon and Typica strains. Java is an Ethiopian landrace that was brought to Indonesia by the Dutch, and is now grown in several Central and South American producing countries for its high cup quality potential at higher altitudes.

This lot underwent float sorting before a short anaerobic fermentation in sealed bags for 18 hours, then was depulped and moved to an open tank before being washed. To halt the fermentation, Nestor uses the popularised method of a ‘thermal shock’, which is to wash the coffee with 65–70°C water before drying. It is then dried with humidity control for up to 36 hours.