I haven’t roasted these bean yet, but I am excited to get back to full bodied, chocolate notes found in Central American beans.
Although these beans come from a number of farms, they are all within the Southwestern Colombian region of Inzá de Cauca. Many farms are above the 2000 meter mark. The coffees that make up this lot were harvested from an altitude range of about 1500 to 2200 meters.
There is a chance for greater “quality control” since the beans are sorted and blended to produce this flavor profile.
This is a wet-processed coffee, most farmers using old style depulpers that are powered by hand-crank or small motors, then fermenting and washing the coffee in the same tank, and finally drying the coffee in covered drying rooms called “parabolicos”.
The cupping notes from Coffee Shrub (Sweet Maria’s) suggest these beans are worth the higher price point:
The dry fragrance has a nice honeyed sweetness all the way up to Full City (and probably beyond), with accents of dried raisin, and creamy fruit smoothie. The wet crust has a softer fruited side at City+ roast, potent honey sweetness, and with some heavier roast bittering, like cacao nibs in the Full City/Full City+ range. Medium roasts show persistent sweetness in the brewed coffee. The cooling cup constructs a framework of nougat-type candy, pistachio torrone, and aromatic honey, marked by a red apple top note. Light roasts have a nice, fruited acidic impression that has a malic quality like that of apple or pear juice. Full City roasts boost deep chocolate low tones, along with faint dark fruited background notes. This lot is a big-bodied coffee no matter roast level, with pleasing, rounded mouthfeel. For those looking for a Colombian espresso option, expect syrupy chocolate and a surprising berry bright spot, along with viscous mouthfeel and bittersweetness that endures.
Based on these cupping notes, I think this will be an excellent coffee at darker roasts for both drip and espresso drinkers.