With nearly four decades of experience, Elmer Restrepo brings deep expertise to El Renacer, his farm in Chinchiná, Caldas, Colombia. Beginning in dry milling, where he mastered hulling, grading, and drying, Elmer built a strong foundation in post-harvest processing before going on to export both his own coffees and those of fellow producers. Today, El Renacer is a forward-thinking estate shaped by his lifelong dedication to quality and innovation. Under his visionary leadership, El Renacer is celebrated for its precision processing and quality focus.
When you brew a cup of this coffee from El Renacer, you aren’t just tasting an exceptional roast – you are experiencing a masterclass in dedication, crafted by a man whose life has been defined by advancing the art of coffee.
The Process – Ginger-Infused Washed Fermentation
What sets this coffee apart is its carefully controlled fermentation, designed to enhance sweetness, complexity, and subtle botanical character. The process begins with a custom mother culture made using Lactobacillus and Saccharomyces cerevisiae, enriched with natural sweeteners such as panela or molasses and fresh ginger grown on the farm.
The Details
– Mother Culture: A bespoke fermentation culture is prepared with selected microorganisms, natural sweeteners, and farm-grown ginger
– Selection & Pulping: Only high-quality cherries are floated to remove impurities, then pulped
– Ginger Fermentation: The parchment coffee is placed in a sealed 200-litre tank with 80 litres of ginger culture for a precise 72-hour fermentation
– Sun Drying: The coffee is dried in direct sunlight for 2–3 days to halt fermentation
– Shade Drying: It is then slowly dried under shaded canopies for around 8 days until it reaches a stable moisture content of 10–11%
– The Result: A beautifully complex, meticulously crafted coffee with a refined sweetness and a subtle, warming hint of ginger.
