Colombia Huila Yellow Bourbon

Colombia is making great strides in traceability, quality, and responsible farming. This washed process microlot came from the Huila region via 10 farmers who unofficially have formed a co-op amongst themselves to increase their yield and marketing power. Yellow Bourbon is related to Red Bourbon and is an old heirloom varietal from which many hybrids have sprung off. The trees don't produce much and it doesn't live very long. So even though it has a good reputation for how it tastes, it's very rarely grown and has to cost a lot to warrant the hassle.

Yellow Bourbon coffee has some hints of fruit notes -- when you isolate them, they are almost like how you would expect yellow plums or yellow raisins to taste. It has more character than most Colombian coffees but is still recognizable as one. We are also getting caramel, sesame seed, and pear flavors. We enjoy it both as coffee and as espresso. You pretty much want to roast it like a regular Colombia washed process coffee. For us, that means just shy of 2nd cracks. 

Producing yellow bourbon coffee requires a crazy amount of labor and passion. You sometimes see them out of Brazil, but not too often in Colombia. It's not cheap, but it's a labor of love.

US Arrival January 2024