Forest Tropical Journey

Through our partnerships at Forest Coffee/El Vergel Estate, we’ve been proud to showcase some of Colombia’s most innovative coffees as Emerald Micro Lots. Our newest decaf collaboration is truly a journey: four unique lots, each with its own processing style, curated meticulously by Forest to deliver a bright, dynamic, and forever memorable cup.

El Vergel is run by the Bayter family: former avocado farmers who switched over to coffee more than a decade ago and committed themselves to continuous agricultural learning. Their steady focus on innovation includes diverse planting, farm improvements, modernized equipment, and a solar panel array to reduce carbon footprint. Constant experimentation with processing is a passion for the Bayters—and this blend is a prime example.

The coffees that make up Tropical Journey come from four different producers across four Colombian departments, under Forest’s Developing Coffee Projects program. The component coffees are Colombia Candy Blast (a watermelon co-fermentation), Caturra The Journey (an anaerobic semi-washed coffee with lactic fermentation), Caturra Syrup (a washed coffee with extended fermentation in sealed plastic tanks), and Rocket Flower (a washed coffee with enzyme-assisted fermentation to increase florality). This exceptional blend not only checks all the boxes for Swiss Water in terms of taste, it is a wonderful example of uniting producers who make meaningful contributions to their communities and the environment. From Candy Blast’s contributions to the UNESCO World Heritage site at San Augustin to Alexander Hernández’ Rainforest Alliance certified farm, the positive impacts are tangible.

Through the Bayters’ commitments to sustainability and innovation, this offering represents everything we want to celebrate in coffee.