Finca Milán, Peñas Blancas, and the art of designed processing

Over the last decade a quieter revolution has been unfolding in Colombia: producers and processors are deliberately designing flavours through controlled, experimental post-harvest methods including cultured ferments, nitrogen-purged bioreactors and thermal-shock treatments. These experiments aren’t novelty for novelty’s sake; they’re systematic efforts to extract clarity, repeatability and new sensory profiles from the country’s diverse genetics and microclimates. 

From traditional washed to “designed” coffees

Historically, Colombia’s export model and wet-mill infrastructure favoured washed processing. That model produced consistently excellent coffees and built the nation’s reputation. But as specialty roasters and baristas are seeking novel flavour experiences, Colombian producers have started investing in controlled fermentation, mixed-substrate ferments (adding fruit mosts), anaerobic techniques, and mechanical monitoring (Brix, pH, temperature) to push the envelope while keeping results repeatable. The shift is less about abandoning tradition and more about adding new tools to a well-established craft. 

Finca Milán, Café Uba, and Julio César Madrid & Julio Andrés Quiceno

In the Risaralda region, Finca Milán, part of the Café Uba group, exemplifies how family farms can become hubs of experimentation. Julio César Madrid, a third-generation producer, and Julio Andrés Quiceno co-founded Café Uba to centralise small estate lots and apply precision processing across varieties. They manage multiple family farms, La Riviera, Milán and Buenos Aires, and pursue rare varieties alongside meticulous post-harvest work.

One of the main techniques associated with their programme is a form of nitro or low-oxygen fermentation: cherries are fermented inside controlled vessels where oxygen is replaced with nitrogen, and variables such as temperature, pH and sugar (Brix) are closely monitored. The aim is to steer microbial activity toward desirable flavour precursors while avoiding off-notes, producing stable, fruit-forward cups that still retain clarity. Exporters and roasters working with Café Uba have described these lots as highly consistent despite being experimental in concept. 

Peñas Blancas and Néstor Lasso & Jhoan Vergara

In Huila’s Acevedo municipality, the Peñas Blancas processing centre, led by Néstor Lasso and Jhoan Vergara, is a different but complementary model. Instead of a single family farm, Peñas Blancas functions as a centralised processing hub where smallholders can bring cherries to access advanced post-harvest methods and quality control. Lasso and Vergara have built the facility to experiment at scale: natural, semi-washed, cultured ferments, controlled oxidations, and thermal shock protocols have all been trialled there. Their work has helped democratise access to designed processes for neighbouring producers who previously lacked the capital or know-how. 

Peñas Blancas is well documented for methods such as open-tank oxidation (allowing controlled aerobic changes for set hours), followed in some lots by thermal shock where you rinse the cherries or parchment with warm water to influence enzyme action, and then careful drying schedules. These interventions are applied in a laboratory-minded way: documenting times, temperatures and sensory outcomes, so processes can be repeated or adjusted. The centre’s coffees have appeared in high-profile competitions and specialty roaster offerings, showing how processing innovation can translate into cup recognition and market value. 

Common experimental methods and why they matter

Here are a few of the most commonly used experimental techniques now being used across Colombia, and why producers like Madrid, Quiceno, Lasso and Vergara use them:

• Cultured ferments / starter cultures: Intentional inoculation with selected yeasts or bacteria to direct fermentation towards desirable esters and acids, reducing unpredictable wild microbiomes. This raises repeatability and makes flavour design scalable.

• Anaerobic / nitrogen-purged fermentation: Minimising oxygen to favour anaerobic microbes and metabolic pathways that produce different fruity or floral notes; monitoring pH/Brix provides control.

• Mosto and fruit must co-ferments: Adding fruit most (grape, mango, etc.) to react with coffee sugars and microbes, producing complex fruit-driven profiles - like our special release Hubba Bubba. These practices are handled carefully to avoid overly cloying or fermented flavours. 

• Open-tank oxidation + thermal shock: Controlled oxidation to develop specific aromatic precursors, sometimes followed by thermal shock (warm water rinse) to modify enzyme activity and stabilise the resulting profile. Peñas Blancas documented uses of these techniques. 

• Precision drying and documentation: Whatever the wet stage, drying schedules (solar, mechanical, raised beds) and rigorous record-keeping turn experiments into reproducible lots, which is essential to commanding specialty prices.

Risks, ethics and the road ahead

Experimental processing isn’t risk-free: poorly controlled ferments can yield spoilage or microbial safety issues; inconsistent drying can lead to defects; and complexity can obscure traceability if not documented. That’s why the most successful initiatives, like Café Uba and Peñas Blancas, pair experimentation with robust QA, lab testing and transparent traceability: turning interesting science into reliable products for roasters and curious consumers. 

What’s exciting isn’t that Colombian coffee is changing who it is at the roots, but that producers are combining centuries of terroir knowledge with contemporary post-harvest science. Farmers such as Julio César Madrid and Julio Andrés Quiceno are proving you can be experimental and precise on family farms, while Néstor Lasso and Jhoan Vergara are scaling those learnings through processing hubs that uplift whole communities. The result for drinkers is a wider palette of clean, expressive, and repeatable coffees that still carry the bright acidity, balance and sweetness Colombian coffee is loved for - only now with a broader range of intentionally designed flavours.

Want to try experimental Colombian coffees? Head over to our special Halloween release, Trick or Treat?