The Watermelon Expression: Citrullus Nectar Protocol

Of all the fruit cultures in Rodrigo Sánchez Valencia's co-fermentation portfolio, the watermelon — marketed formally as the "Nectar Citrullus" process — is the most immediately recognisable in the cup. Watermelon and melon belong to the Citrullus genus, and the concentrated juice of these fruits creates one of the most distinctive fermentation environments in Colombian specialty coffee: bright, crisp, and laden with the kind of sweet-fresh character that makes the resulting cup feel as much like a summer fruit experience as a coffee.

The process follows Monteblanco's standard mother culture architecture but uses concentrated melon and watermelon juice as the flavour contribution. The lactobacillus and Saccharomyces cerevisiae microorganisms cultivated from Purple Caturra cherries metabolise these fruit compounds during the 190-hour culture fermentation, producing esters and organic acids that carry melon character structurally into the coffee during the subsequent 150-hour fermentation. The result is not a sweetened or flavoured product — it is the microbial signature of watermelon, built into the bean's aromatic profile through controlled biochemistry.

"Part high quality Colombian coffee, part melon science experiment. The melon tones stick right out and balance nicely with the Colombian coffee profile." — Burman Coffee

The Process: Citrullus Nectar Co-Fermented Washed

1. Mother culture created from Purple Caturra cherry microorganisms (lactobacillus + saccharomyces cerevisiae).
2. 80 litres of culture fed with sugar, molasses, and concentrated melon and watermelon juice. Sweetener energises fermentation and matches the culture's Brix to the coffee's sugar level. Ferments for 190 hours.
3. Cherries harvested at peak ripeness, measured for Brix at the mill, floated to remove impurities, and pulped.
4. Pulped coffee placed in a sealed 200-litre tank with the 80-litre watermelon culture. Ferments for 150 hours. Team monitors to ensure environment stays above 6° Brix and above pH 4.
5. Coffee washed and dried: 2–3 days direct sun at the Aromas del Sur drymill in Pitalito, then 15–18 days under shaded canopies to preserve volatile aromatics.

Aromas del Sur: The Shared Drymill

All Monteblanco lots — including the Watermelon Co-Ferment — are milled and prepared for export at the Aromas del Sur drymill in Pitalito, built by Rodrigo and Claudia Samboni in 2019. Aromas del Sur is the umbrella operation encompassing Finca Monteblanco, Finca Progreso, and Finca La Loma — a shared infrastructure that allows precise, consistent lot preparation across the group's combined production. The facility operates with zero-defect standards and full traceability, exporting through Clearpath Coffee.

Brew Guide