[A word from the roaster]
It has been a while since I last sourced an anaerobic natural Pink Bourbon, and a top specialty one at that, so the concentration I bring to roasting runs all the more intense.
The rising aroma carries the rounded, tropical-fruit fragrance that only anaerobic processing brings. The quiet elegance native to this variety appears in the cup. A grapefruit-like acidity on the first sip is gradually enveloped, as the temperature changes, by an emerging sweetness and layered fruitiness.
A floral note reminiscent of jasmine sits quietly alongside, and a refined aftertaste lingers long. This is a cup that reminds you all over again of everything coffee, as a drink, can be, and one I truly hope you will taste.
[About the origin]
In central Colombia, the Tolima department lies in the highlands between the Central and Eastern Cordilleras. Fertile volcanic soil and abundant water flowing down from the Andes create an ideal environment for growing coffee. Planadas, in its southern part, is an area whose reputation as a specialty coffee origin has risen sharply worldwide in recent years.
La Esperanza Farm sits at 2,003 meters, where the large swing between day and night temperatures draws out the delicate aromatics of the Pink Bourbon variety. Pink Bourbon (a rare mutation of the Bourbon line whose cherries ripen to pink) is known for combining floral aromas with bright fruitiness and a delicate sweetness. Fully ripe cherries are hand-sorted and then, on the same day as harvest, undergo anaerobic processing (fermentation carried out in sealed tanks with the oxygen shut out). By advancing the fermentation slowly over 72 hours, it produces a flavor in which floral aromas and notes suggesting red fruit and citrus layer together in complex fashion. After fermentation, the coffee is sun-dried on African beds and then slow-dried in a greenhouse, finished as a uniform, stable micro-lot brought to a moisture level of 11%.
The farm is run by the young producer Eduard Girardo Olaya. Of the roughly 2.5-hectare property, this family operation devotes 2 hectares to Pink Bourbon, practicing thorough, careful cultivation under the conviction that "exceptional quality is born of attention to detail." This lot is delivered through Caravela (a specialty coffee exporter in Latin America), which maintains some of the finest quality control in Colombia, and earned a cupping score of over 87 points, a quality classified as "top specialty" by international standards.
[Tasting notes]
Red berry, pink grapefruit, and a jasmine-like floral aroma. A creamy, smooth texture with a balance of fruitiness that unfolds in layers as the temperature changes. An elegant, sweet finish lingers long.
Product name: Colombia Tolima La Esperanza Farm Pink Bourbon Anaerobic
Region: Tolima, Planadas
Altitude: 2,003m
Producer: La Esperanza Farm (Eduard Girardo Olaya)
Process: Anaerobic natural
Roast level: Medium roast (medium-light)
