Magnum Sidra, Colombia

ORIGIN OF THE PRODUCT Magnum Sidra, Colombia

The Bayter family began in 1995 growing avocados in Fresno, Tolima, before turning to coffee in 2010 at El Vergel Estate. Elías and Shady, alongside Martha, started searching for ways to bridge producers and roasters through innovative processing. In 2019, Forest Coffee was born — today a network of 250 coffee-growing families across four projects in Colombia. Magnum Sidra belongs to the Innovation series — the coffees where El Vergel pushes the boundaries of what non-conventional processing can achieve on an exceptional variety. The Natural + Mosto process is the most complex method Forest Coffee applies. It begins with 72 hours of anaerobic fermentation in plastic tanks inoculated with lixiviates — liquid by-products from the fermentation of Java coffee, rich in microorganisms, bacteria, and yeasts. These lixiviates are collected, stored at 3°C for up to 24 hours, and reintroduced into new fermentation batches with water and sugar added — a technique that enriches the microbial environment and develops flavour compositions impossible through conventional methods. A two-stage drying process follows: 2–4 days of mechanical drying in a silo at controlled temperatures to prevent over-fermentation, then 18 days of sun exposure. A final 30-day stabilisation in GrainPro bags completes the process before milling. At Handpickers, we selected Magnum Sidra because it represents the highest point of what we search for in coffee: a variety — Bourbon Sidra — with a natural capacity for floral and fruit expression of exceptional complexity, combined with a process that doesn't mask but amplifies that capacity. This coffee belongs to our Reserve series — limited, seasonal, for those who want to understand what innovation means in specialty coffee.