September - Colombia - Monkaaba - SL-28 - Washed

About this coffee
For the first time, September is presenting an SL-28 from the Monkaaba project – this lot is something special.

The cup reveals a citrus acidity reminiscent of blood orange and juicy citrus fruits. This is complemented by a cola-like sweetness and a delicate floral, black tea like note.

• Region: Kennedy, Sevilla, and La Muralla, San Agustin, Huila
  
• Producers:  Pastor Ordoñez, Damian Bolaños, Esnaider Ortega & Maria Alejandra Astudillo
• Altitude: 1670-1800 masl
• Variety: SL-28
• Harvest: 2025
• Process: Washed
• Roast date: 04.11.2025
  
• Contents: 250 grams

About the producers
Monkaaba is an initiative to empower small farmers in the San Agustín area. It was founded by Esnaider Ortega Gomez together with a select group of producers who have been working for many years to market their coffee as specialty coffee. Many of them are directly or indirectly associated with the Los Naranjos group and in recent years have developed a desire to gain more independence in production and greater influence over the marketing and sale of their coffee.

Monkaaba's goal is to help local producers find better sales opportunities that offer fair and stable prices. At the same time, the project invests in knowledge transfer and further training to give producers long-term prospects and sustainable success.

The first SL28 seeds came to the project via Esnaider and Augusto Ortega, and they made a conscious decision to share this variety with other members of the network – in the hope that as many producers as possible could benefit from this valuable strain.

Planting of the SL28 trees began at the end of 2020. As with many exotic varieties, it took around four years for the plants to bear a significant amount of fruit. The first harvests were correspondingly small, so it was jointly decided to bundle the available coffees to make them exportable and at the same time build up a long-term customer base for this variety.

About the variety
SL28 is one of Africa's best-known and most highly regarded coffee varieties. Originally selected in Kenya in the 1930s, the variety spread from there to various regions of Africa – particularly to Arabica-growing areas of Uganda – and then on to Latin America.

The plants thrive particularly well at medium to high altitudes, are comparatively tolerant to drought, but susceptible to common coffee pests and diseases. SL28 is characterized by its remarkable robustness: even if the trees are hardly cared for over years or even decades, they can later return to stable production.