Sunburn

Sunburn is back. For those who've been with us for a while, you'll recognise this one, it was our Summer Edition last year, and it earned its return. A coffee this expressive, this citrusy, this made for hot days deserved a second season.

It comes from El Vergel Estate, a farm in Fresno, Tolima, managed by brothers Elías and Shady Bayter. The family's agricultural roots go back to 1995, and coffee became part of the picture in 2010. But what makes El Vergel worth talking about is what came after: in 2017, faced with the limitations of the local market, Martha, Shady, and Elías set out to find a different way of doing things, one built on direct relationships, transparency, and a genuine investment in processing as a craft.

That led to the founding of Forest Coffee in 2019, a project that today brings together a network of 250 coffee-growing families across four major projects in Colombia, with a team of 25 people and roaster partners around the world. The goal from the start has been simple: close the gap between producers and roasters, ensure fair pricing, and let the coffee speak for itself. El Vergel is where that story began, and it remains the heart of the project.