It all began in El Salvador. When our founder, Saša Šestić, visited Mauricio Salaverria in 2011, Mauricio was experimenting with natural processed coffees. This was an unusual adventure in El Salvador at the time, as the origin was known for its incredible washed lots. After the first taste, Saša and Mauricio talked about options and what to test for the next season’s harvest, including thick-stack drying (which was a risky move). 

Years later, when Saša visited again, Mauricio presented his natural processed lots on the cupping table, and claimed: “This coffee tastes… supersonic!” In 2014, Mauricio placed 5th in the COE with his Supersonic lot, one of the highest ranking naturals in the COE, and ever since, Mauricio’s Supersonic lot has been in high demand from roasters everywhere.

Thanks to his bravery and adventurous experiments, Mauricio began our Project Origin pathway to the Supernaturals range. It requires additional care, space and time to reduce the risks of over-fermentation on the drying beds, but the results are far beyond expectation..

What techniques are used?

Supernaturals are developed using a combination of techniques related to fermentation and drying.

Most lots utilise two or more of these techniques

Increasing temperature to speed up fermentation rates

Decreasing temperature to lengthen fermentation times

Thick-stack drying at various depths on raised beds

Shade drying to slow down drying times at different levels of moisture in the cherries

Covering or wrapping the cherries to retain heat and moisture for short bursts of time

By adjusting the way we process coffee, we can discover new expressions from the same varieties and regions that we think we know. This happens when we can work with the natural state of the cherries in each origin, and then choose processing methods and techniques that will most enhance its characteristics. To find our enhanced flavour, sweetness and body, we develop natural coffees that go beyond expectations… Super-naturals.

Project Origin is a company that uses green coffee beans to empower people, so together we can change the world we see.

Throughout our history we have met hundreds of extraordinary people from all over the world. We have supplied roasters and baristas with a substantial variety of coffees, invested in dozens of community projects that improve the livelihoods of individuals and communities, and developed new processing techniques that can both build better economic sustainability for producers and offer consumers a whole new range of flavour experiences. All of these accomplishments have been possible thanks to the heart and mind of our founder, Saša Šestić, and by how he responded to that question.

“Can you try a sample of my family’s coffee?” When Pathy Kasiviswanathan first visited Saša at the ONA headquarters in 2010, he simply wanted a review on his family’s coffees to help him begin a wholesale trade of green beans in Australia. Thalanar Estate is a coffee producing farm in South India that sold its beans as a commodity product to the local mill, meaning the beans were mixed with a range of other green beans from other farms, and no-one really knew where it ended up. Saša agreed to try the samples, and when he did, he considered the coffees to taste perhaps better than the Indian coffee he was currently using. This was a positive tasting – but to Saša’s surprise, Pathy had never before tasted these coffees himself! In fact, no one at the farm knew what it was they were producing. Saša and ONA coffee were already buying coffees directly from some producers, but this opportunity saw the potential to invest in more than direct trade green beans.