SL28 / Natural Pyramid

This year’s SL28 Natural comes with a little twist. You’re probably wondering: why the name Pyramid?

After harvest, the cherries are first washed and put through floater separation to remove underripe and underdeveloped fruit. This step helps reduce the risk of “quakers,” a common challenge in naturally processed coffees, creating a cleaner and more consistent cup.

The cherries are then dried on patios for around 9 days, but this is where the process takes an interesting turn. Every afternoon, the coffee is gathered into smaller pyramid-shaped mounds, or tiny volcanoes, which inspired the process name.

The pyramid shape serves an important purpose. During cooler nights it helps retain heat within the mass of coffee, creating a more stable drying environment. Rather than cooling down too quickly and having to fully restart the drying cycle each morning, the cherries continue moving through a slower and more controlled process overnight.

By concentrating the coffee into pyramids, the cherries create a more consistent internal environment where moisture and temperature remain more balanced throughout the pile. This encourages a slower, uninterrupted fermentation and a more even drying process across all the cherries. In a way, the pyramid acts like its own small ecosystem, maintaining momentum and allowing the coffee to progress naturally without dramatic shifts in temperature.

After the initial 9 days on patios, the coffee is transferred to mechanical drying to carefully finish the process. This final stage further stabilizes moisture levels and ultimately helps homogenize the coffee, ensuring greater consistency throughout the lot and creating a more uniform final cup.

Small changes in process can create a surprisingly big impact, and in this case, the Pyramid method is all about consistency, control, and getting the best expression of this SL28 Natural.