Ana María Donneys / Green Mist

In the wake of the COVID pandemic, coffee people of all stripes were looking to come out of the isolation to reignite, reinvigorate and reconnect. At the 2022 SCA Expo in Boston, some of us on the Yellow Rooster team were invited to the IWCA Colombia chapter cupping, where we tasted some truly exceptional and differentiated coffees, many of which were produced by Ana Maria Donneys. There was an immediate connection! We exchanged contact information, and returned to our respective homes with hope for the future.

It was then in September of 2023 that we traveled to Medellín, Colombia for the Producer Roaster Forum (PRF). Ana approached our booth at the convention with a big smile that said “Remember me??” We immediately reconnected, and Ana laid it out straight: “Guys, I’ve been trying to do this on my own, but I need a partner. I want to take my coffee to the USA, and I want to do it with you.” Humbled and honored, we began to devise a plan.

About a month later, we were again in Colombia. We headed to Armenia, Quindío with the plan to dedicate our time to visit Ana’s project, which she calls “Primitivo Coffee” in honor of her grandfather Primitivo Correal Barrios. Primitivo’s operation is comprised of five separate farms just beyond the town of Circasia. After a tour of a few of the farms, including a staff lunch of sancocho that we shared with some of the farm personnel, we made our way to the cupping lab. Nine coffees in total, three in each category of washed, honey and natural. The truth is, we couldn’t have gone wrong with any of the coffees, but since it was our first exercise with Ana, we chose our favorite from each category and made our commitment.

This process, dubbed Green Mist by the Primitivo team, uses two stages of fermentation inside sealed tanks filled with carbon dioxide gas (CO₂), so there’s no oxygen. A special starter liquid full of yeast is added to guide the fermentation. These are natural, wild yeasts identified as native to the farm, with which the Primitivo team creates a supercharged colony to add to the mossto, which is then added to the cherry mass. The first stage lasts 24 hours.

The yeast helps turn the natural sugars in the coffee cherries into flavor compounds that make the coffee taste fruity and floral. The lack of oxygen keeps the flavors clean and bright, especially with citrus-like acidity (like lemon or orange). The coffee is then pulped and put back into a fermentation tank, oxygen-free.

During the longer second stage (the last 72 hours), the coffee’s sugars are broken down even more. This gives the microbes more energy to work with, helping build a fuller body and balanced acidity.