This 100% Batian lot is made up of single-day lots from eight farms in Samaipata that are part of Fincas Los Rodríguez. Found at elevations between 1,400 – 1,800m above sea level, the farms are owned by Pedro Rodríguez and his family. Batian – named after the highest peak on Mt. Kenya, the Batian variety was bred by Kenya’s Coffee Institute and released in 2010. Since then, it has successfully been propagated in Kenya, with Latin American growers beginning to experiment with it in recent years. This is due to the fact that the variety is very adaptable, as it is suited to most climates and can start producing coffee in its second year (while more traditional varieties need three years before production is viable). The tree has high levels of resistance to rust and disease and produces exceptional cup quality – as it is closely related to the very flavourful SL-28 and SL-34 varieties grown in Kenya. At all of the Rodríguez farms, Pedro hires pickers that are trained to select only the very ripest cherries, and multiple passes are made through the farm throughout the harvest to ensure the coffee is picked at its prime. Selective picking is always very important and is particularly important for naturally processed lots like this one, to ensure a very sweet and clean cup. The Rodríguez family has found that the very ripest (almost purple) cherries provide the best cup. After being inspected and weighed, the coffee was placed on a conveyor belt and was disinfected, in a similar process used for wine grapes. The coffee was then gently washed using fresh, clean water and carefully placed inside stainless steel fermentation tanks with C02 injection for 36 hours (Carbonic Maceration) with lactobacillus, and finally put into Buena Vista’s brand new ‘chamber’ dryers for a total of 77 hours. These chambers resemble giant ovens, where coffee is able to dehydrate slowly and at a constant rate, as the sealed off environment allows for complete control of temperature and humidity. Once the coffee was dry, it was transported to La Paz where it was rested before being milled at Agricafe’s dry mill, La Luna. At this state-of-the-art mill, the coffee was first hulled and sorted using machinery, and then by a team of workers who meticulously sorted the coffee again (this time by hand) under UV and natural light.