For the majority of our filters, we tend to buy washed coffees, as we find that clarity wins over funk most of the time. That said, a super out there natural or honey process does grab our attention when done well. *Watch out for some mega naturals arriving in June this year!
The new season (2019) has seen some standout Colombian's. The first for us was the fantastic women coop (ASMUCAFE) called El Tambo, which delivered an amazing butterscotch tasting espresso and a filter that tasted of pungent stewed pears. Our feeling was that this was going to be hard coffee fo follow up on.
Interestingly enough, the suggested flavour notes from our supplier did not correlate with our final flavours at all. This can be down to a number of things, such as the crop changing in profile during transit, the style of roasting or even the subjective nature of cupping and applying suggested flavours to the coffee.
Regardless, the flavours we ended up pulling from the coffee and offering you capture this coffee perfectly. It has lots of layers of clean red fruit such as grape and cherry, a sweet caramel body and a very heavy / intense structure. Depending on how you brew this coffee, you will draw out more red grape acidity or possibly more body, demonstrated in a viscous and syrupy consistency.
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We always like to find out some interesting stuff about our coffee growers, and in this case it resulted in a great story. It focused on how Jorge came to work in coffee through his father and his desire to move back to a farming lifestyle after having lived in the city for a period of his life.
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Jorge Emilio Brazo is originally from the traditional coffee area of Ibague, Tolima. When he was young his father used to own some small lots of coffee and sugar cane for Panela. It was from spending time with his father on these small coffee lots that he acquired a passion for the land and for coffee.
In his early adult life Jorge migrated to the city to study economics, and worked for a number of years as a professional in finance. After some years of working at big companies, he decided to go back to the rural area to pursue his real passion for farming. He bought his own coffee farm of 9 hectares, where he was able to apply the coffee farming knowledge that he acquired from his parents; knowledge that he has since passed onto his own son.
During the harvest season, each lot on the farm is hand picked every 15 to 20 days for ripe cherries. The coffee is then separated and floated before they ferment it in a tank or in clean bags for 22 hours. After that, the coffee is washed and sun dried it in a parabolic dryer for 10 - 15 days.
Currently the farm generates employment for 5 people, who live on the farm year round. During harvest, Jorge employs an additional 10 to 15 more people to work with them and help manage the harvest and processing.
Like the sound of this coffee? You can buy it right here.