Nestor Lasso and his brother Adrian have made themselves a namewithin the world of specialty coffee with heavily fermented naturals from their farm El Diviso in Huila, Colombia. This is the third time we have bought coffee from this award-winning family of producers.

Finca El Diviso was founded by José Uribe in the late 1990s. When his sons Nestor and Adrian took over the farm, they were not even 20 years old. They started by introducing new varieties and experimenting with different processing methods. Soon after, they joined forces with Jhoan Vergara, another ambitious producer who runs a farm nearby called Las Flores. Today, their businesses are closely linked. The three young producers have worked in close collaboration with Cata Café Export to develop and refine the work on the farms and their fermentation processes in order to improve quality and consistency.

We have not yet been to Finca El Diviso ourselves, but we have already had the opportunity to meet Nestor Lasso twice in Europe, when he was traveling with Cata in 2022 and the following year. A visit to the place is definitely very high up on our list of priorities.

During the harvest, only the very ripe coffee cherries are picked, which is checked by measuring the sucrose contents with a brix meter. The cherries are then placed in open plastic containers and left to oxidize for 48 hours. During this time, the sugar content and pH value are constantly monitored. Next, the cherries are placed in cold water in order for unripe, defective or beans that are low in density float to the top and can be sorted out. This is followed by a thermal shock, which means the beans are rinsed with warm water that loosens the molecular structure and starts the fermentation process. The process is supported by adding a small quantity of yeast. The coffee cherries and yeast are then placed in plastic buckets, which are sealed airtight. For the next 38 hours, the coffee and microorganisms are left to themselves. Finally, a controlled drying process takes place in several stages and the coffee is dried to a moisture content of 10.5-11.5%.

After we were offering a heavily fermented Pink Bourbon varietal from the Lasso family called «El Diviso 180» as an espresso the year before last, a somewhat lighter, washed, but still anaerobically fermented coffee of the Chiroso variety was on our shelves at the end of 2023. The new «El Diviso» is more in line again with the classic Nestor Lasso profile and this time we decided to roast the coffee for filter preparation. The post-harvest processing is similar to that of «El Diviso 180», but  we bought coffee of a different varietal this time around. Ombligon, an Arabica variety that has been receiving more attention recently, is primarily grown in Colombia and often offers a complex flavor profile.

No matter which variety or processing methods – Nestor Lasso has never disappointed us, each of his coffees is exclusive and of incredibly high quality. Several of Nestor Lasso's coffees have been used by baristas to win national championships or place in the top 3. Most recently, Australian participant Jack Simpson won third place at the World Barista Championship 2023 with this very green coffee we bought as well.

This coffee reminds us a lot of El Diviso 180 from 2022: The fermentation is comparable and we found lots of tropical fruit notes in both coffees. However, the Ombligon is somewhat more elegant, cleaner and more complex. At first sip, it tastes punchy, intense and surprising, the next sip, we find berry notes and a lot of body. The coffee is extremely sweet, with tropical notes of passion fruit or mango, yet it is balanced and clear, a bit like a multi-fruit juice, but at the same time much more complex. It's incredible how different coffee can taste.