SL34
Natural
Finca Potosi, Cafe Granja La Esperanza

Tastes Like: Black Currant, Umeshu, Granny Smith

Origin: Finca Potosi, Valle del Cauca, Colombia

Variety: SL34

Producer:  Rigoberto and Luis Eduardo Herrera

Elevation: 1570-1850 masl

Process: Natural

About the Cup

This SL34 natural from Finca Potosí presents a bright, fruit-driven profile centered on black currant, umeshu-like sweetness, and crisp Granny Smith acidity. The cup is structured and vivid, with a berry-forward aromatic profile, malic lift, and a clean fruit-wine finish shaped by high-elevation cultivation and a controlled natural process.

About Finca Potosi, Cafe Granja La Esperanza

Finca Potosí is one of the foundational farms of Café Granja La Esperanza, the Colombian specialty coffee group led by Rigoberto and Luis Eduardo Herrera. The Herrera family’s work at Potosí dates back to the mid-20th century, when the farm expanded beyond Typica into varieties such as Yellow Bourbon, Red Bourbon, and Caturra, establishing a long-running focus on variety selection and quality-focused production.

Today, Café Granja La Esperanza manages multiple farms across distinct Colombian microclimates, with Potosí located in Caicedonia, Valle del Cauca. The farm is known for precise agronomy, careful post-harvest work, and a portfolio of high-end varieties and processing styles; this lot highlights their ability to take a Kenyan-selected variety like SL34 and produce it with clarity, acidity, and fruit depth in a Colombian highland context.

About SL34

SL34 is one of the classic “SL” selections from Scott Agricultural Laboratories in Kenya, developed from individual tree selections during the 1930s. While it has often been associated historically with French Mission Bourbon, genetic research places SL34 closer to the Typica-related side of the Bourbon-Typica group.

In specialty coffee, SL34 is valued for its high cup-quality potential at altitude, often showing defined acidity, berry-toned fruit, and a structured sweetness when grown and processed well. In this Colombian expression from Finca Potosí, the variety’s high-elevation performance is reflected in the coffee’s black currant depth, crisp apple-like acidity, and winey natural-process sweetness.

About Processing

A classic natural process means the coffee is dried with the fruit still surrounding the seed, allowing sugars and aromatics from the cherry to shape the cup during drying. Compared with a washed process, this can contribute more saturated fruit expression, a rounder texture, and a slightly more wine-like sweetness.

For this lot, the natural process supports the SL34’s bright acidity without obscuring it, giving the cup a profile that feels both fruit-forward and structured: black currant and umeshu sweetness up front, with a crisp Granny Smith finish.