COLOMBIA: SAN AGUSTÍN

Tastes like

Rich and sweet. Washed clean.

You get creamsicle sweetness on the front, fudge and almond richness through the middle, and a black tea finish that stays clean and keeps the cup moving.

The coffee

A Huila microlot, separated for its exceptional cup quality. Jaime Burbano Ortega's Finca El Guayabo is sourced as a microlot, a designation reserved for coffees scoring 87 points or above and traceable to a specific farm, producer, and variety. Caturra is a compact, naturally occurring Bourbon mutation that does well at altitude, and in San Agustín it shows up creamy and precise.

Origin

Huila sits between the Central and Eastern Andes, nestled between two great mountain ranges and one of Colombia's most celebrated coffee regions. The variation in elevation running through the Magdalena Valley creates a wide range of microclimates, all of which push quality upward. Huila accounts for nearly 20% of Colombia's total production, yet 80% of its producers work plots of less than three hectares. The smallholder farmers here are the reason the quality is what it is.

The farm

Jaime Burbano Ortega farms Finca El Guayabo in San Agustín as a member of the Los Naranjos association. His coffee has been picking up recognition in local Huila competitions, and he runs his production with the kind of precision and curiosity that tends to show in the cup. He is actively exploring new techniques to push quality further, and the results speak for themselves.

Process

Extended washed, with up to 60 hours of fermentation and 28 days to dry. Coffee is picked ripe and depulped in the afternoon and evening. It then ferments for up to 60 hours before being washed clean and spread on patios. The cool climate at San Agustín's elevation slows the dry down to around 28 days. Even, controlled, and worth every day.

Brew it your way

This one rewards precision on espresso and patience on filter. Pull it at a 1:2 ratio in 28 to 32 seconds and you get a cup that opens sweet and closes clean. On filter, a 1:16 ratio lets the body carry the creamsicle and almond notes all the way through.