El Bombo Alto del Obispo Pink Bourbon FW

This coffee was produced by smallholder farmers in Alto del Obispo in San Agustin, Huila. Altitudes in the region are high, averaging around 1,700 to 1,800 meters above sea level. Farms are, on average, about 3 hectares.  

The farmers producing this lot are a part of El Bombo. Cooperativa de Caficultores El Bombo (El Bombo Cooperative), previously known as Asobombo, was founded by third-generation producer John Edison Díaz to expand market access and secure fair, sustainable prices for member coffees. Today, their members across Huila, Caquetá, Cauca and Nariño are Organic certified and sell their coffees with El Bombo to garner higher prices for their hard work. 

Farmers selectively handpick ripe, red cherry and process it on their farms. They pulp cherry on small hand crank pulpers and ferment it for about 30 to 34 hours.  Following fermentation, they wash parchment in clean water and lay it to dry, typically in parabolic dryers. They rake parchment frequently to ensure even drying. It takes approximately 17 to 20 days   

Pink Bourbon was previously thought to be a hybrid of Yellow and Red Bourbon varieties. The variety was first identified growing in and around Huila, Colombia. Recent research has found that Pink Bourbon is in fact not Bourbon at all. Pink Bourbon mostly likely comes from an Ethiopian landrace variety.

Pink Bourbon has a stunningly high cup potential that wows coffee professionals and consumers alike. Its impressively high cup quality makes even more sense now that we understand Pink Bourbon is not simply a hybrid of two Bourbon varieties but traces to Ethiopian landraces. Its siblings include the highly-prized Geisha, which has consistently produced incredibly high cup scores. Pink Bourbon will continue to be a highly distinguished and valued variety.

Some farmers also report that Pink Bourbon has more disease resistance than the Bourbons it grows alongside. Based on these new discoveries, this may be due to the genetic variety it has coming from Ethiopian landraces.  

The Huila region is one of the most well-known coffee growing areas of Colombia. The Department of Huila has a population of 1.125 million and is located in the southwest of the country. The capital of the department is Neiva, a city of about 380,000.  

Along with Cauca and Nariño, Huila is one the three departments where the Colombian Massif is located. A massif is a group of mountain ranges and the Colombian Massif, which is known locally as Nudo de Almaguer, provides up to 70% of safe drinking and agricultural water for the Colombian population. 

The Magdalena River, Colombia’s largest river, runs through the region, providing plenty of water for coffee farming and generating (directly and indirectly) up to 86% of Colombia's GDP. The mountain range also features the fertile volcanic soil so typical to the Andean Mountains.