Wush Wush
It's a rare Ethiopian variety from the Wush Wush valley near Jimma. It's got that super peng Ethi wild landrace thing going on in terms of flavour, loads of berries and a bit of the florals. I had the pleasure of walking through this field last year, there we're loads of bees and the plants were all long limbed and wooshy.
Miguel's Natural Processing
Once the cherries have fermented for 24 hours, the coffee is transported to a drying bed. These sit in closed greenhouses, where coffee is layered in sheets of 12 kg per 2m² for 5 days. The coffee is turned at least 3 times a day, though weather depending, this may increase to 6 times a day. This is to ensure a uniform initial drying, as air humidity levels may fluctuate.
Once the coffee reaches 21% humidity, it is taken to the mechanical dryer. Here, it takes around 4 to 5 days to finalise the drying process, which is complete at 10% humidity. The temperature in the mechanical dryer oscillates between 30 to 35 degrees celsius.
The Farm: El Fénix
El Fénix serves as Raw Material’s central hub in Colombia — more than just an office, it was developed with a long-term vision in mind. The site brings together three distinct but interconnected components: a rare-variety organic coffee farm, a post-harvest processing lab, and a community wet mill. These elements function together to support innovation in coffee production, processing, and trade.
Located in Calarcá, in the eastern municipality of Quindío, Colombia, El Fénix is ideally situated facing the Cauca Valley and the central mountain range. Its microclimate offers optimal conditions for coffee growing: strong sunlight reflected off the valley, an average annual rainfall of 2,275mm, and abundant freshwater from natural spring falls. This setting supports the growth of rare and experimental coffee varieties under organic farming conditions.
As a working farm and research space, El Fénix enables Raw Material to carry out selective breeding programs, experiment with new post-harvest processing techniques, and adapt farming practices to organic production. It also serves as a venue for hosting farm management and cupping courses for producers and roasters, all while building stronger relationships across the value chain.
Community Wet Mill
In addition to coffee production and research, El Fénix is home to a growing community wet mill — a collaborative infrastructure project initiated and crowdfunded with support from Raw Material. The goal is to offer smallholder producers in the surrounding area greater control over both quality and income.
The model allows Raw Material to purchase coffee in cherry form rather than parchment, enabling complete oversight of the post-harvest process to ensure consistency and maximize quality. Producers benefit not only from improved quality outcomes but also from a transparent, two-part payment system designed to stabilize cash flow.
The first payment is made when cherries are delivered — up to six weeks earlier than traditional parchment payments — at a fixed rate equivalent to COP 1,000,000 per carga of parchment. A second payment is made after export, based on the final price roasters pay. If the export price exceeds the benchmark, that added value is passed directly to the producers.
This system provides a meaningful step toward equity in the coffee value chain and demonstrates Raw Material’s commitment to delivering long-term, community-driven development through trade.
