So this is a 90-point rated Colombian. Did you know such a thing existed? Well, it is always hard to sell an expensive Colombian because people don't expect it to be worth the money, but the farmers are really starting to pay attention to quality and discovering that higher quality equals higher prices for their crops.
The Huila region is generally my favorite. It sits in the south center of the country, enjoys altitudes of 4500-5000 feet, and is known for coffees with more of a cocoa and sweet stone-fruit taste than those in the northern regions of Colombia. This lot comes from a newly founded group called "Aromas del Sur" (translation: Southern Flavors) and they are currently a 73 member group with extreme control of hand picking the best cherries, drying to exactly the right moisture level, processing the beans themselves, and then roasting and cupping them for quality control. They also have started a "coffee university" and been teaching other farmers about quality.
It is unusual for the farmer to be able to oversee how their coffee is handled, sorted, and prepped every step of the way, but their efforts pay off.
City Roast: get it through the first cracks and maybe another 30 seconds or so. Not a great roast for this coffee. Even though it's a high quality Colombian, the lightest roasts taste tart, savory, and underroasted.
Full City+, a few seconds into 2nd cracks, this is my sweet spot for roasting most Colombians, and this one is no exception. Here you have a coffee that reminds me of a Burundi. Lime, caramel, sweetness like honey, slightly savory with hints of sage, herbs, tomato. Some dried fruits like raisins and fig. No bitterness, and clean aftertaste. I really like this coffee.
French Roast -- 60 seconds of 2nd cracks -- big bold flavor without ashy tastes or too much bitterness. Nothing special here, but a little cream pulls out the caramel flavor and it retains its sweetness.
Very late arrival of 2016 crop: September 2016
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