Colombia · Finca El Diviso OmbligonCoffee Bean Intro:

Front Street Coffee: Colombia · Finca El Diviso Ombligon

Region: Huila

Farm: Finca El Diviso

Elevation: 1700 meters

Processing: Double Anaerobic Natural

Variety: Ombligon

Flavor: Grape, orange, blueberry, pineapple juice, spices, fermented winey notes

The 2022 WBC saw Australian competitor Anthony Douglas select a Sidra coffee from Colombia’s Huila region, Finca El Diviso, and claim the championship, bringing both Finca El Diviso and Sidra into the spotlight. In recent years, another new variety grown at Finca El Diviso—Ombligon—has also gained favor among many competition participants.

Ombligon coffee first entered the public eye during 2023’s WBC World Barista Championship finals, where the third-place Australian competitor Jack Simpson used this variety and showcased its rich juiciness through three distinct beverages. More recently, at the Chicago WBrC finals, two of the top six finalists also used Ombligon from Colombia’s Finca El Diviso as their competition beans.

Finca El Diviso

Finca El Diviso is located in Pitalito, Huila Province. The farm owner, Jose Uribe Lasso, began cultivating coffee in 1996. To escape the hustle and bustle of city life, he relocated from Nariño to Pitalito in Huila and purchased El Diviso in the early 2000s, marking the beginning of a new chapter for Finca El Diviso.

The choice of Huila was driven by the region’s fertile volcanic soils and diverse ecological environment, which gave owner Jose great confidence that with diligent management, ideal growing conditions could be achieved for coffee and other crops. Today, Finca El Diviso is jointly managed by three brothers: the eldest, Jhoan, oversees cultivation; Nestor manages overall farm operations; and the youngest, Adrian, handles all marketing and sales.

Finca El Diviso has long been committed to cultivating rare and lesser-known coffee varieties. In addition to the well-known Sidra and Ombligon, the farm also grows Pink Bourbon, Papayo, Tabi, Chiroso, Bourbon Aji, and other rare varieties, as well as some naturally mutated, unique types. The owners are also passionate about developing various processing methods to highlight the diverse and complex characteristics of coffee cherries.

Ombligon

Like many rare Arabica varieties, the origin of Ombligon remains unclear. When asked, most farmers say it is an Ethiopian variety. Currently, Ombligon is only grown in Huila, southwestern Colombia, where it performs best at altitudes between 1600–1800 meters.

The term “Ombligon” comes from Spanish, translating to “big belly” or “big navel” in Chinese. Its coffee cherries are uniquely shaped, resembling papayas, with large, protruding bottoms and a small ring around the base, making them look like a “belly button.” This distinctive trait, uncommon in most coffee varieties, inspired its name.

Genetic testing by the World Coffee Research institute shows that Ombligon shares certain traits with Ethiopian landraces, leading to its classification as a natural mutation of an Ethiopian variety in Colombia. Growers have also found that among native Colombian coffee varieties, Ombligon shares high similarity with Caturra—both feature broad leaves, dense fruit clusters, vertically growing branches, high yields, and strong resistance to leaf rust.

Double Anaerobic Natural

When selecting a processing method for Ombligon, Finca El Diviso’s owners considered its most distinctive characteristic: its diverse and complex juiciness. After comparing the flavor profiles of different post-harvest batches, they found that fermenting the coffee cherries to a certain degree before sun-drying brought out the variety’s clear and lasting fruity aromas better than other methods.

Mature Ombligon cherries are first floated in hot water (50-60°C) to remove underripe or defective beans and impurities. Denser beans are then soaked in the hot water for about 25 minutes. After floating, defective beans missed in the initial float are hand-picked out. The cherries are then placed in a sealed fermentation tank for 24 hours to enhance sweetness and mouthfeel while collecting the fermented juice released from the coffee.

Next, based on the actual cherry volume of the batch, the farm owner prepares a sufficient amount of fermentation solution by mixing sugar water. The sugar solution activates brewing yeast, which is then mixed into the fermentation liquid and poured into the tank with the coffee cherries for a 72-hour immersion fermentation. During this period, the fermentation liquid is circulated every 4 hours, and the pH is monitored to ensure it remains no lower than 3.8.

Once fermentation is complete, the cherries are removed and placed in a custom-built drying chamber at the farm for dehydration. 12 hours. The entire process uses no external heat source, relying entirely on the cherries’ own heat and circulating airflow to achieve drying. They are then transferred to raised drying beds for an additional 15 days.