Huila

Of the many growing regions in Colombia, the mountainous department of Huila in the south west of the country grows the most coffee. Huila enjoys a wide diversity of micro-climates, temperatures, altitudes and coffee varieties. In fact, coffee is grown in 35 of Huila's 37 municipalities. All of this means that the coffee coming out of this region is as diverse as the variables that influence its production.

Pink Bourbon

Initially thought to be a natural hybrid of Red and Yellow Bourbon, this variety, famed for its characteristically pink ripened cherries and equally unique flavour characteristics, has become highly sought after. It has now been genetically confirmed that Pink Bourbon is in fact an Ethiopian Landrace variety. On our trips to Colombia, we've seen the variety proliferate across Colombia, particularly in Huila, where it has become extremely popular amongst specialty focused coffee producers.

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Washed

Alirio picks cherries as ripe as can be, and does an initial float in water to remove the over- and under-ripe cherries. From there, he leaves the cherries to start the initial fermentation process in a plastic bag for 36-40 hours, depending on the weather he’s careful to keep the bags with cherries especially cool during this initial fermentation period. From there, he de-pulps the coffee, and then ferments it for an additional 36-40 hours before washing it. To identify the best time to de-pulp the coffee, he takes some and places it in water to see if the mucilage of the sample washes off easily- he also says that he tastes it to see if the coffee has a prickly, bright taste to it. From there, his coffee is sun-dried for around 15 days, and then dried under shade cloth for 10 more days. Parchment coffee is stored in Grain Pro bags at home to ensure that humidity is stable at around 11%.