Here is my favourite Colombian coffee of 2021. We have had some super lots, but this coffee grabbed me in the late spring and we have been holding our breath in anticipation ever since. This is a Rosado (or pink if you prefer?) bourbon, which is pretty much exclusively grown in Colombia as a varietal. To add to that it is also anaerobically fermented and dried. This opens up a massive range of flavours. Colombia has revolutionised their coffee quality and value (in the last few years) through new and innovative processing methods. Much of the rest of the coffee-growing world is adopting this, as every producer wants extra value and we want this for them too.
Top Trumps:
Owner: Luis Anibal Calderon Farm: Finca Villa Betulia
Area: Acevedo, Huila
Altitude: 16-1800 Meters above sea level
Process: Anearobic Natural Varietal: Pink or Rosado Bourbon Roast: Light Filter. Cool dropped.
Cup Profile Filter:
Based on 60-65g per litre
|Aromatics: Sweet and ripe| Body: Light/Medium| Acidity: Soft red grape, citrus finish| Even when hot, this coffee is just incredibly sweet. Rummy, brown sugars, (red) wine gums, sweet complex fruit sugars and a long lingering play between cocoa and citrus. It is the kind of coffee I make excuses to go and re-brew, like today before I wrote this.
Cup profile Espresso:
Because this is a light filter roast, I feel it works best with a longer extraction. We have really been enjoying it in the 30-35 second shots 1:2 (short shots) for milk-based drinks and longer shot for espresso. This is really intriguing espresso but also really nice in a flat-white.
Farm Stuff
In 2019, Luis Anibal Calderon, began planting native trees amongst his coffee trees to reduce the need for fertilizers, preserve his soil and improve his cup quality. His farm is called Finca Villa Betulia and located in Acevedo, Huila. This year he planted 2000 Yellow Bourbon trees, 9000 Pink Bourbons, 2000 Geshas and 1000 Tabis. This coffee comes to us from Cofinet. A Colombian-centric company, who is part of a family that has been growing and distributing high-quality green coffee for over 80 years. In 2015, Cofinet started exporting specialty coffee. Some of their coffees arrive in the UK in hope of being sold to roasters quite regularly now. We ordered this sample via Colombia and bought it ahead so we could ensure that we would receive it.
