What We Taste: Pineapple Cake + Blueberry Jam + Green Apple After two long years, The Jewel has returned! This coffee from David and Eddy Solano highlights the focus and dedication to what started as an intriguing experimental coffee. From David Solano, “We believe in order to change the name of ‘experimental’ to ‘maceration’ or ‘pineapple yeast anaerobic’ name, we need to be consistent and create a stable and replicable protocol…” They’re excited to include a microbiology lab on the farm itself, testing various fruit yeasts including peaches, apples, kiwi, and pineapple, with pineapple producing the best results. This coffee’s processing showcases precision: The cherries are submerged in water baths before they are sorted by density and placed in fermentation tanks designed to hold approximately 2,500 lbs of coffee cherry. The yeast developed for this process is done in a microbiology lab to increase effectiveness and prevent cross contamination with bacteria that may be occurring in the actual fruit. Once the pineapple yeast is developed, it’s added to the temperature controlled fermentation tank with the cherries for 70 hours. Afterwards the coffee is moved to dry in the shade on raised beds for 8-10 days, and then on the 11th day it is moved to dry in the sun for another ten days. When roasting and tasting we landed on bright citrus tones from the pineapple yeast, softened through processing, akin to pineapple cake, with the depth and fruitiness of a blueberry jam, and a slight tang reminiscent of green apple. Producer: David + Eddy Solano Region: San Martín Jilotepeque, Chimaltenango Process: Pineapple Yeast Anaerobic Natural Varietal: Red Bourbon Elevation: 1800 MASL