Raul Rodriguez Pink Bourbon FW

Raul Rodriguez inherited the initial portion of Finca La Campiña from his father, who was also a coffee producer, in 2017. He soon purchased an additional plot and expanded the farm. The 5-hectare farm sits at 1,800 meters above sea level in Santa Maria, Huila.  

In addition to the Pink Bourbon in this lot, Raul also cultivates Castillo. The soil is volcanic loam. This nutrient-rich soil provides what coffee needs to flourish.   

Raul and his wife selectively handpick ripe, red cherry and process it on their farm. After picking, they hand sort cherry to ensure only the best quality cherry is processed. Cherry is rested for 18 hours to lightly ferment and bring out some fruity flavors. Then, cherry is pulped and fermented in water for 48 hours. Following fermentation, coffee is washed in clean water and laid on marquesinas to dry. Patricia and Nicolas rake parchment frequently to ensure even drying. It takes approximately 20 days for parchment to dry. 

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.