Colombia Tolima Sonrisa de Café A

[A word from the roaster]

Several small plots in Planadas come together to make a single lot. Caturra, Colombia, Castillo, Bourbon. Beans from different plots and different varieties warm up together in the same drum. Listening for the crack, I stopped the roast where the sweetness settles best.

The first sip brings a bright fruitiness reminiscent of orange peel. As the cup cools a brown sugar sweetness steps forward, with a nutty note supporting it from behind. Nothing heavy stays behind once you have finished, only a clear finish.

A straightforward balance to keep on hand for everyday brewing.

[Origin notes]
Tolima, in central Colombia, spreads across the valleys held between the Central and Eastern ranges. It is the country's third largest growing area by planted acreage, home to more than 60,000 producers, and it accounts for roughly 13 percent of Colombia's output. Water runs down from the snow-capped peaks that rise within the department, and the soil is sandy, built up from volcanic ash. Rain falls through the year and the coffee flowers twice annually. At 1,600 to 2,000m the swing between day and night temperatures is wide, and the cherries take their time to ripen. Tolima coffees placed at the SCAA in 2009, and ranked among the top lots at the 2022 Cup of Excellence.

Planadas, where this lot grows, is a town in the south of Tolima. It is also a place that lived with armed conflict for a long time. Today its farmers work together to raise quality, and the town is known as one of Colombia's leading specialty origins. More than 12,000 hectares of its farmland is planted to coffee, and it has produced several winners in international quality competitions. Most plots are family-run and around 1.5 hectares, scattered through the steep valleys of the Central range. One valley over and the rain falls differently: it can be raining on the neighboring farm while the sun is out here. Those small differences become the range you taste.

Harvested cherries are depulped with each household's own equipment, then settled into fermentation tanks, the traditional fermentation long practiced in Tolima. They are moved to a parabólica (an arched drying house) and the moisture is drawn off slowly on African beds (raised drying tables that keep air moving underneath). Drying away from direct sunlight is what evens out the shape of the flavor. At the buying stations the coffee is checked for yield, green bean appearance, defect count, moisture content and water activity, and the grade is decided by cupping. The "A" this lot carries is the grade based on a cupping score of 84 to 85 points. Sonrisa is Spanish for smile. The importer who visited in 2024 named it after the faces of the people who welcomed them. Sonrisa de Café, the smile of coffee.

[Tasting notes]
A bright fruitiness reminiscent of orange peel, with a sweetness like brown sugar. The nutty note drawn out by the medium roast sits underneath, and the mouthfeel is smooth. A clear finish carries on even as it cools. The sweetness comes through honestly brewed hot by hand, or as a cold brew at a medium-fine grind.

Product name Colombia Tolima Sonrisa de Café A
Region Tolima department, Planadas
Altitude 1,600 to 2,000m
Producer Smallholder producers in Planadas
Variety Caturra, Colombia, Castillo, Bourbon
Process Washed (traditional tank fermentation → dried on African beds inside a parabólica)
Roast level High roast (Medium roast)