A very exotic Colombian offering. This is a slow dried natural, meaning plenty of ferment and fruity tones in the cup profile. Uneven roasting and high chaff, beans like these are changing the coffee game and you will either love or hate them. For a natural fan, this lot is terrific and a perfect example of the processing.
The beans are from a farm called Alto Cielo, located in El Cogollo a community within the municipality of Gigante in the department of Huila, Colombia.
Angelo Eduardo Sosa is the owner and has managed his family’s 25-acre farm for the last 20 years. He is proud of being a student of coffee who continues to learn something new every day. He learned a great deal from his father who was also a coffee farmer and he hopes to pass on his knowledge and passion for coffee to his 3 sons.
Angelo harvests cherry at Alto Cielo and then takes the cherry to the lower and drier elevations of Garzón where he has more control over the delicate natural process. Angelo collaborates with an exporting company called Inconexus to gain access to technical support for best agricultural practices. The partnership has helped to improve quality, increase earnings from coffee sales, and strengthen his family’s livelihood.
This is a single strain Arabica coffee, Tabi – a strain created by crossing a couple different Arabicas: Typica, Bourbon and Timor Hybrid. Bred for its taste and disease resistance. Although I am not sure we have had a Tabi coffee before, it is very well suited to this natural processing.
Tasting Notes:
Great and very lively red fruit tones, a bit of floral, a little hint of citrus all combining with a traditional Huila undertone (jammy, nutty and chocolaty). Great medium to borderline dark roast coffee. Lighter roasting will really promote the more floral aspects of this cup along with the red fruit and acidity. As one pushes closer to 2nd crack, the acidity mellows considerably, the body gets much larger and its more jammy bodied qualities come out with plenty of fruit tones retained.
Roasting Notes:
A little more challenging to roast with its higher chaff and 2-3 color shades while in the roaster. Good news, it tastes great from light to borderline dark. We would error on the lighter side rather than risk it hitting 2nd crack (besides a single pop or two). We liked it best stopped just at the end of 1st crack, which leaves a light-medium roast profile on the beans. Many will like it a bit darker with that jammy body, if that’s the case, get real close to 2nd crack or upon first pop, cool it out. 48 hour setup on this guy really help smooth it out.
