About This Coffee
Second-generation producer Wilson Aranda has been producing specialty coffee for nearly 2 decades. He inherited 2 hectares from his mother, Marlen, after whom the farm is named. He purchased the remaining 4 hectares and focuses on producing high quality specialty coffees.
Wilson’s 3 children are also passionate about producing quality coffees. They work with him on the farm to ensure the highest quality production. In order to garner better prices for his coffees, his goals for the future are to build strong direct trade relationships and to have consumers recognize his coffee as high quality.
Harvest & Post-Harvest
Wilson selectively handpicks cherry and processes it on his farm. He places ripe, red cherry into GrainPro bags and seals them to ferment anaerobically for 40 hours. Then, he pulps cherry and ferments it in water for a further 20 hours before washing parchment in clean water. Parchment is laid to sundry. Wilson rakes parchment frequently to ensure even drying. It takes approximately 17 days for parchment to dry.
In the future, Wilson hopes to attend processing workshops and learn how to improve his processing. He also plans to build a better space for drying cherry, and access technical assistance.
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.