Colombia Santa Barbara

Colombian farmers are really starting to pay attention to quality and discovering that higher quality equals higher prices for their crops.

The Santa Barbara Estate has a passion for quality. Because it is an estate, and not a co-op, the farmers are paid for QUALITY, not QUANTITY. This makes a huge difference. With the right incentives, only perfectly ripe coffee is picked, the cherries are sorted carefully, they are processed carefully, you end up with a Colombian that's sweet, creamy, and oh-so-drinkable without defects or off-tastes. However, this is a Colombia that tastes like a Colombia. For some of my customers, that means this is too boring of a bean for you to bother with. For others of you, it means this is a "regular, normal coffee" and is exactly what you are looking for. This one is from the Antioquia region and the beans are the larger "Supremo" 17/18 bean size.

Because it is an estate, it is not eligible for "fair trade" certification, but the workers and farmers are well-taken care of, and paid above-fair-trade standards. The estate has also chosen not to pay for organic certification, but their dedication to environmental sustainability and care includes a commitment to grow coffee in organic, traditional methods.

Full City+, a few seconds into 2nd cracks, I really enjoy the flavor here and this is my sweet spot for roasting this bean. There are some mild cherry notes, creamy milk chocolate, dried raisin, date, overall sweetness, no bitterness, and clean aftertaste.

Now give it another 30 seconds and it's more like "traditional coffee" -- which is often what people who like "Colombia" are looking for ("do you have any normal coffee??") -- here is your nice dark morning mug of Colombia. The kind of brew you could serve at a gathering and not hear any complaints.

US arrival of November 2023