El Paraíso — Maragogype, Koji Natural · Cauca, Colombia
An anaerobic natural fermented with koji — the mold behind soy sauce and sake — for a savory, singular cup: soy and umami, sweet chocolate, green apple, spiced finish. 88.25.
Coffee / Farm
El Paraíso
Cup Score
88.25
Altitude
1,960 m
Process
Anaerobic Natural
Location
Cauca
Maragogype Koji Natural
Producer: Diego Sambuel Bermúdez
Region: Cauca
Farm Altitude: 1,960 m.a.s.l.
Fermentation: Koji (Amazake method)
Microorganisms:Aspergillus oryzae (Koji)
Notes: Soy sauce, spice, sweet chocolate, green apple, umami, passionfruit, pineapple, boozy
Diego Bermúdez has turned fermentation into a precision craft, and this is one of his most deliberate lots. The variety is Maragogype — the giant-seeded mutation of Typica that usually trades flavor for size, since those oversized beans need more nutrients than most trees can supply. Grown with enough nutrition to fully develop and then processed with koji, it becomes something else entirely.
The method borrows from the world of sake and miso. Aspergillus oryzae — the same koji mold behind soy sauce and amazake — is first cultured on dried coffee pulp and husk for four days at 35°C, then introduced to whole cherries for another four days of fermentation. An amazake-style wet ferment follows, drawing malic acidity from the pulp and fixing its aromatic and alcohol compounds back into the seed. Gentle dehumidified drying preserves the delicate notes and halts fermentation before it tips over.
The result is savory and layered: soy sauce and umami up front, sweet chocolate underneath, bright green apple acidity, and a warm, spiced finish. It tastes like nothing else on the bar. We'd brew it as filter — pour-over or batch — where that complexity has room to open up.
Limited release. Whole bean.
El Paraíso — Maragogype, Koji Natural · Cauca, Colombia
An anaerobic natural fermented with koji — the mold behind soy sauce and sake — for a savory, singular cup: soy and umami, sweet chocolate, green apple, spiced finish. 88.25.
Coffee / Farm
El Paraíso
Cup Score
88.25
Altitude
1,960 m
Process
Anaerobic Natural
Location
Cauca
Maragogype Koji Natural
Producer: Diego Sambuel Bermúdez
Region: Cauca
Farm Altitude: 1,960 m.a.s.l.
Fermentation: Koji (Amazake method)
Microorganisms:Aspergillus oryzae (Koji)
Notes: Soy sauce, spice, sweet chocolate, green apple, umami, passionfruit, pineapple, boozy
Diego Bermúdez has turned fermentation into a precision craft, and this is one of his most deliberate lots. The variety is Maragogype — the giant-seeded mutation of Typica that usually trades flavor for size, since those oversized beans need more nutrients than most trees can supply. Grown with enough nutrition to fully develop and then processed with koji, it becomes something else entirely.
The method borrows from the world of sake and miso. Aspergillus oryzae — the same koji mold behind soy sauce and amazake — is first cultured on dried coffee pulp and husk for four days at 35°C, then introduced to whole cherries for another four days of fermentation. An amazake-style wet ferment follows, drawing malic acidity from the pulp and fixing its aromatic and alcohol compounds back into the seed. Gentle dehumidified drying preserves the delicate notes and halts fermentation before it tips over.
The result is savory and layered: soy sauce and umami up front, sweet chocolate underneath, bright green apple acidity, and a warm, spiced finish. It tastes like nothing else on the bar. We'd brew it as filter — pour-over or batch — where that complexity has room to open up.
Limited release. Whole bean.
