Candy-sweet, caramel-rich, and dressed up in raspberry—winter never tasted this good!

Our Winter Roast for 2026 is a striking example of Colombian innovation, crafted at El Edén Farm in Huila by renowned producer Rodrigo Sánchez. This coffee features a Purple Caturra/Bourbon variety and undergoes a meticulously controlled tamarind co-fermented washed process, resulting in a cup that is expressive, sweet, and deeply layered.

 After Dennis (our roaster and Dad to Josephine) used his roasting skills to refine the production roast, this coffee reveals a focused and elegant flavor profile built around candy-like sweetness, rich caramel, vibrant raspberry, and dark fruit—a balance of indulgence and clarity that makes it especially memorable. (I was able to catch Josie being being goofy in this picture, putting on her science goggles, teasing her Dad for what a "science nerd" he becomes whenever refining a roast.) LOVE these two, and the coffee created when Dennis goes into full "science-nerd" mode.

The Tamarind Co-Fermentation Process

This coffee begins with the creation of a custom fermentation culture, developed entirely from Rodrigo’s own Purple Caturra coffee cherries. This mother culture contains carefully selected microorganisms, including lactobacillus and saccharomyces cerevisiae, which play a key role in shaping sweetness and fruit expression.

Eighty liters of this culture are then fed with sugar, molasses, red fruit juices, a small amount of liquor, and tamarind. The fruit components contribute aromatic complexity, while the sugars energize microbial activity and bring the culture to a sugar concentration that mirrors the coffee cherries being processed. This initial fermentation phase lasts approximately 190 hours, allowing the culture to reach the ideal balance of degrees Brix and pH.

Once the coffee cherries arrive at the mill in Pitalito, they are immediately measured for sugar content, floated to remove defects, and placed into a 200-liter sealed fermentation tank. The prepared fruit-fermented culture is added, and the coffee undergoes a second controlled fermentation lasting 150 hours. Throughout this stage, the team carefully monitors conditions to ensure the environment remains above 6° Brix and a pH of 4, preserving sweetness and preventing over-fermentation.

Following fermentation, the coffee is dried in two stages: 2–3 days in direct sunlight, followed by 15–18 days under shaded canopies, until the beans reach an ideal 10–11% moisture content

Flavor Profile

In the cup, this Winter Roast is unmistakably sweet and refined. Expect a candy-like sweetness up front, followed by smooth caramel and juicy raspberry, anchored by deeper dark fruit tones. The washed structure keeps the profile clean and polished, while the co-fermentation adds depth and vibrancy without overpowering the coffee’s natural character.

This is a winter coffee that feels indulgent yet balanced—bright enough to stay lively, rich enough to feel comforting.

Why This Coffee Stands Out

This coffee represents the intersection of scientific precision, innovative fermentation, and thoughtful roasting. By pairing a highly controlled tamarind co-fermentation with a refined production roast, this lot from El Edén delivers clarity, sweetness, and complexity in equal measure.

It’s a seasonal release designed to be memorable—layered, expressive, and crafted with intention from farm to cup.