Tio Juan Micromill is a family project, started in 2015 by Juan Rafael Montera Gamboa to improve the quality of coffee from his family farm, Monteroga. The leap in quality since the building of the mill is astounding but the farm and the work of Juan was amazing even before that. His approach has always been to work in harmony with nature, working carefully to maintain the habitat and ecosystem that he shares with so many large and small organisms. From the microbiome of the soil to the animals that live on the farm. He regularly analyses the soil and produces his own fertilisers which he calls “bioles”, these are produced by the anaerobic digestion of plants and are nutrient-rich enough to provide his coffee with almost all of the nutrients it requires. Additionally he does all weeding by hand and doesn’t use any herbicides.

The Red Catuai of this lot was harvested carefully, with selection of only fully ripe red cherries, once at the mill they were pulped and then fermented in their own mucilage for 48 hours prior to being washed. The washed coffees were then dried on raised beds until optimal humidity was achieved. The coffee is a great example of terroir, we really feel the health of the plants shines through in the vibrancy of flavour present. We’re excited to visit Tio Juan again in the future and to keep enjoying these truly exceptional coffees.