El Fénix farm is located in the eastern municipality of Quindío, Colombia in Calarcá. It faces west toward the Cauca Valley and the central mountain range. The farm has ideal climate conditions with a strong sun reflection off the valley and an average rainfall of 2,275mm a year, in addition to natural spring falls which provide water for the farm’s needs.

As well as being a rare variety producing farm, El Fénix is also home to a developing community wet mill for producers in the area. The project was crowdfunded to help fund the construction of the mill, which when complete will provide the region’s farmers with greater control over their coffee quality, and control over their income through a fixed price payment system. Investment in this kind of accessible infrastructure is one of the necessary steps to make good on the promise of development through trade.

Variety: Wush Wush is a local landrace variety first found in the area of Wushwush in southwest Ethiopia. The Wushwush area features fertile highlands where the high altitudes and nutrient-rich soil create the perfect conditions for coffee cultivation. After being isolated on a farm in Wushwush, the variety was brought to South America in the 1990s. Today it is most common in Colombia and Panama.

Anoxic Natural Processing:

Once cherries are received, they are hand-picked and floated to ensure only those of the best quality continue to the processing stage. These cherries are placed into a deep cleaned fermentation tank. A sheet is then placed over the cherries, which is then submerged with cool water. 

The seal created by the water pressing onto the sheeting creates a vacuum effect on the coffee below, creating an anoxic environment for fermentation to begin, which lasts for 48 hours. The water and sheet act as not only a sealant, but a heat exchange, allowing the heat build up to transfer to the water, which evaporates away. A stabilised temperature of around 25 degrees Celsius ensures that the cherry doesn’t over ferment. This temperature is regularly monitored, and if it falls too low for fermentation to continue, hot water is added to the water pillow, to provide warmth to the fermenting coffee underneath.

Once the fermentation is complete, the water is drained, and the sheet is removed. The now fermented coffee is rinsed and drained of all residual liquid. To continue into the natural processing phase, coffee is dried in cherry on raised beds for between 4 to 5 weeks. The raised beds ensure optimum circulation of airflow, assisted by the cherry being turned every 30 minutes of the duration of its drying!Once the fermentation is complete, the water is drained, and the sheet is removed. The now fermented coffee is rinsed and drained of all residual liquid. For the washing process to continue, the cherries are pulped, and the exposed beans are washed and graded. The coffee is then sun dried for between 4 and 8 hours daily, and dried on raised beds for between 2 to 3 weeks.