2022 EXPOSURES SERIES

EXPOSURES is a collection of unusual, experimental, and off-the-beaten-path coffees curated to illuminate, demystify and delight.

José Fredy Rodriguez is one of the founding members of Grupo Mártir, an independent cooperative of smallholders based in La Plata, Huila Colombia. Phoenix has been buying from Grupo Mártir and José Fredy since 2018 and featured separations of Fredy’s coffee in 2020 and 2021.

In 2021, our Colombian export partner, Osito, organized a regional competition for coffee producers in the Mártir group near Occidente they called ‘Copa de Occidente’ to energize the group and highlight their commitment to quality.

José Fredy won the first ever Copa de Occidente competition with this microlot now known as Copa de Occidente #1—which showcases the quality potential when biological farming methods meet cutting-edge processing techniques.

We're excited to present this exemplar of the coffee we've come to know from this group of quality-focused producers in La Plata and that typifies the possibilities that develop through the long-term relationship buying that Phoenix practices.

THE COFFEE

First released in 1982 by Cenicafé, Colombia’s national coffee research center, Variedad Colombia is a cross between Caturra—the high-producing mutation of Bourbon—and Hibrido de Timor, a natural mutation of Arabica/Robusta that features resistance to the fungus that causes coffee leaf rust. Attributed with saving the coffee industry after the outbreak of roya in 1983, selection and agronomic practices have improved the quality of Variety Colombia overtime, making it a staple on farms in many parts of the country. It is, however, an otherwise unremarkable coffee in the world of specialty, making José Fredy’s win with it a testament to his skill and sophistication. José Fredy exclusively uses biological methods on his farm, producing inputs and composts from material found on the farm and eschewing the use of synthetic inputs, fungicides or pesticides.

PROCESS NARRATIVE

Variedad Colombia using biological methods at 1350 meters; selectively hand-picked and sorted for ripeness; floated; fermented for 36-hours in a sealed plastic tank with an airlock; pulped and floated; fermented dry in plastic tanks for 24 hours; washed; dried in shade in a high-airflow marquee drier for 22 days; stabilized as parchment in GrainPro for 30 days prior to milling.

ROASTING

This coffee was roasted on our Loring S35 to Tonino 125 color, rested for 9 days, and sealed at peak freshness.

PRICE TRANSPARENCY

This was a competition-winning lot that was purchased by Phoenix at $9.90 per lb FOB the full 20kg lot from Osito, who owns both the export company in Colombia and the import company in the U.S. that facilitated logistics, customs brokerage, and financing for this coffee. Fredy received 6.5 million COP/carga at an exchange rate of 4000 COP per USD which translates to $8.72/USD, or 76% of the final purchase price.

WHAT WE TASTE
Mint, pineapple, red currant, kiwi, oxidized white wine, strawberry

Orders will ship the week of June 27, 2022