The Coffee
In Colombia's Central Andes, there is a coffee farm run by the Quintero family. Jose Hernan, along with his wife Nubia and son, runs Finca La Pradera. It's a family-oriented operation where Nubia manages accounting, their son processes the cherries, and Jose oversees the entire farm.
This year, Jose has gifted us a honey processed Pink Bourbon. After being hand picked at the peak of ripeness, these beans go through an arduous journey before they’re done being processed. The cherries are first poured into a tank of water, which separates out any defective fruits or miscellaneous debris, which will float to the top. Before being pulped, the cherries are sealed in bags to ferment for 42 hours. After they are pulped, they are sealed back up in the same bags to once again ferment for another 42 hours. Once opened, the beans go to dry in the sun. For the first 3-4 days, they are laid on the top bed in direct sunlight. They are moved to the bottom bed for the next 7-8 days to be in indirect sunlight. The next step is to be sealed once more in bags for 10-12 days. After all this, the beans, still not done, are moved to a covered drying patio until every last drop of moisture is gone. The very last step is to be left sat in their burlap bags to stabilize for 15-20 days. All in all, that’s anywhere between 39 and a whopping 48 days to process. Talk about dedication!
What we are tasting from this new lot is a beautiful mixture of sweetness and acidity. Cranberry, cherry, and other red berries coat the palate in a viscous red wine-like body, a note of marmalade brings a tinge of citrus that one would find in an orange peel, and sweet lime appears on the scene as the cup cools. All the while bergamot holds the whole cup together, acting as a smooth, floral base.
