About This Coffee
Producer Miguel Angel Botina purchased Finca La Miel in 2015 and began planting specialty varieties including the Pink Bourbon in this lot. He coffees were a hit from the start. In 2017, his first Geisha harvest wowed international buyers and scored 92 points. Several of his lots have been finalists in the Cup of Excellence.
In addition to cultivating coffee at Finca La Miel. Miguel also manages operations at La Cereza Research Center, where farmers in the surrounding region deliver their cherry for processing. Miguel’s focus on high quality processing and his dedication to promoting their coffees have helped put La Argentina on the map for specialty production.
Cultivation
In addition to the Pink Bourbon in this lot, Miguel also cultivatios Geisha, Mocha, Pacamara, Maragogype and Wush Wush.
Harvest & Post-Harvest
After selective handpicking, ripe cherry is fermented inside an airtight container. The seal creates an anaerobic environment where the lack of air allows different enzymes, yeasts and bacteria to dominate fermentation. The result is a coffee with different flavors than if the coffee was fermented in an open container.
Once fermentation is complete, the cherry is laid in thin layers to sun dry. Cherry is raked frequently to ensure even drying.
About Pink Bourbon
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.
Coffee in Colombia
Colombia has been producing and exporting coffee renowned for their full body, bright acidity and rich aftertaste, since the early 19th century.
Colombia boasts a wide range of climates and geographic conditions that produce their own unique flavors in coffee. This also means that harvest times can vary quite a bit. In fact, between all its different regions, Colombia produces fresh crop nearly all year round.
The increasing focus on the specialty industry is changing the way traders and farmers do business. It is becoming more common for farmers to isolate the highest quality beans in their lots to market separately. These higher-quality lots are often sold under specific brands or stories.
Besides its wide variety of cup profiles, Colombia has quickly expanded its certification options over the past 10 years. The most common certifications available are Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance and Organic.