A truly special coffee from Formative, but that’s just par for the course with everything Wilton Benitez produces. Formative founder Ian has been working with Wilton since winning the UK Barista Championship with one of his coffees so we were super excited to try this one! These Colombian coffee beans provide a cup that’s reminding us of a strawberry lollipop with plenty of mouthwatering juicy fruit flavour that's perfect for filter brewing.

Wilton is a specialised producer with over a decade’s experience cultivating rare and experimental coffees with unique flavours in mind. Alongside innovative cultivation techniques, his farm Finca Paraíso-92 also features a microbiology lab and processing plant. Following harvest, classification and sterilisation, this experimental anoxic washed lot underwent a seriously complex and labour intensive process.

1. First fermentation: 52 hours in bioreactors with a relief valve at a temperature of 18oC with addition of specific yeast to enhance fruity notes.

2. Cherry pulping.

3. Second phase of fermentation in mucilage for 48 hours at 21°C

4. Fermentation for 68 hours.

5. Washing with a thermal shock process: first with water at 40°C then water at 12°C.

6. Drying of the grain with controlled equipment for 48 hours at 38°C.