200 hours of temperature-controlled fermentation. That's over 8 days. :) 

Most natural coffees ferment for 24-48 hours. José Julián Giraldo at Las Marías looked at that timeline and thought "what if we made it way more complicated?"

So he did. 48 hours at room temperature, then 24 hours in a cooling room (10-15°C). Repeat that cycle three times.

Total: 200 hours of alternating temperature fermentation.

This is Pacamara, the variety with beans so big you can see them from across the room (kind of), going through the kind of precise temperature cycling you'd expect in a laboratory, not a Colombian coffee farm.

José calls himself a "coffee designer," which honestly makes sense when you see how he approaches things. Third-generation farmer who cups and tries every variety before planting it and checks in to see what we actually want. Las Marías grows 10+ experimental varieties between 1,750-2,050 masl, and this Pacamara is the best of the best (in our opinion). 

What's in the cup 🍫🍷

Chocolate  and cocoa nibs show up first—clean, not overly sweet. Then anise flower florals emerge. Red wine characteristics come through mid-palate. The acidity is balanced, medium-high, similar to goldenberry. The body is creamy and substantial. The finish is short chocolate.

It tastes like someone took Pacamara's natural chocolate profile and enhanced it through very controlled fermentation. Not fruit-forward. Not jammy. Just complex and layered.

That's what 200 hours of temperature cycling gets you.

Process 

• Pacamara variety (large beans, expressive profile)
• 200-hour natural anaerobic fermentation with temperature control
• Fermentation cycle: 48hrs room temp → 24hrs cooling room (10-15°C) → repeat 3 times
  
• Sun-dried on African raised beds
• Hand-sorted twice
• 2 months temperature-controlled storage

About the temperature cycling:

Here's the difference: most natural process coffees get put on raised beds, ferment and dry in the sun for a few days, done.

This one went through a whole thing. Ferment for 48 hours at room temperature. Move the cherries to a cooling room (10-15°C) for 24 hours. Back to room temp for 48 hours. Back to cooling for 24 hours. Back to room temp for 48 hours. Back to cooling for 24 hours one final time.

Three complete cycles. 200 total hours.

The reason this matters is that temperature affects fermentation speed and what flavor compounds develop. Room temperature fermentation creates certain compounds. Cooler fermentation creates different ones. Cycling between them builds complexity you don't get from fermenting at steady temperature the whole time.

It's a specific protocol aimed at creating a specific flavor profile, which is pretty different from "we've always done it this way" farming. 

How we're roasting it 

How we're roasting it:

Light to medium roast to preserve the wine notes and let the chocolate develop naturally without pushing it dark. José recommends this approach for Pacamara, and after testing it, we agree very much. It provides such a funky fun jam flavor and consistency that is perfect for this coffee. 

The temperature-controlled fermentation created nuance that deserves careful roasting. Too dark and you lose the anise florals and wine characteristics. Too light and the chocolate doesn't fully develop.

Brewing notes:

It's great on conical and flat bed filter brewers

For water, try normal 93°C , standard pour technique. It's easy to over extract, so be careful with not too hot or too many pours. 

Brewing on the batch brewer, we'd recommend 60 g coffee / liter. 

For a 1-cup recipe, we'd recommend starting with 

15g coffee / 250g water 

⏱ 0:00-0:10 - 50g water

⏱ 0:30-0:40 - 50g water

⏱ 1:00-1:130 - 150g water

Total brew time: 2 minutes and 30 seconds

About Jose and Las Marias 

José Julián Giraldois a third-generation producer who has turned Finca Las Marías (Pijao, Quindío) into a high-altitude laboratory. At 1,750-2,050 masl, he manages over 10 experimental varieties, including Gesha, Sidra, and Pacamara, with a focus on expressive cup profiles.

The farm Las Marías is very precise, almost like a lab in the mountains. Most Colombian farms don't have cooling rooms, they ferment at ambient temperature because that's what's available. Las Marías has the infrastructure to mess around with temperature control, then actually used it to run 200-hour cycling protocols on Pacamara.

Rather than relying on tradition, José uses a methodical approach: 

• Selective breeding: Every seed is cupped and tested for quality and productivity before planting.

• Brix-Led harvesting: Pickers harvest based on sugar content (Brix) rather than just color, ensuring the raw material is optimized for fermentation.

• The Lab: Processing takes place in a climate-controlled environment where pH, temperature, and oxygen levels are strictly manipulated.
  

Why Pacamara:

Pacamara beans are genuinely huge, a hybrid of Pacas and Maragogipe varieties. They're expressive, they cup well, and their size means they can handle extended fermentation without falling apart.

José picked Pacamara specifically for this temperature cycling experiment because the variety's natural characteristics (chocolate, creamy body, balanced acidity) would work well with the process rather than getting overwhelmed by it.

Turns out he was right. The chocolate and wine notes are Pacamara doing its thing under very controlled conditions.

What you're supporting:

When you buy this coffee, you're supporting third-generation farmers who are investing in experimental infrastructure, funding continued variety trials at Las Marías (10+ varieties currently growing), and helping prove that precision fermentation creates distinctive coffee worth paying for.

José could grow commodity Caturra and sell it to co-ops. Instead he's growing Pacamara and fermenting it for 200 hours with temperature control. That approach deserves support.