Colombia - Fincas 575 - Two-Pack

We are excited to bring you this two-pack of coffees from our friend Herbert Peñaloza Correa.  The set includes two, 200 gram tins and highlights the effects processing and varietal selection play on the flavor profile of one distinct micro-climate.

The set includes:

One, 200g tin of Sidra

One, 200g tin of La Cascada

Sidra 

In this coffee we are finding notes of grape laffy taffy, hi-c, tamarind soda and wild flowers complemented by a syrupy body and deep sweetness.  A nicely juicy with a ton of wild flavors and none of the funk.

The coffee is a Sidra varietal and is processed as a natural with an anoxic fermentation step before drying.  The process starts with over-ripe harvesting.  After harvest, the coffee is rested in an enclosed container - anoxic fermentation - for 72 hours.  After resting it is dried in a greenhouse for 45 days with a two-week stabilization period before being sent to the drymill for sorting and export.

La Cascada

In this coffee we are finding notes of strawberry jam, hibiscus, watermelon juice, plumeria, honey, magnolia and banana bread complemented by a velvety body and sugary sweetness.  An extremely complex and layered flavor profile while at the same time elegant and clean.

La Cascada is a blend of Typica, Fragrancia and Gesha varietals and is processed in a style unique to Herbert and the farm.  The coffee is harvested and then fermented in-husk for up to 6 days in closed bags where it ferments in an anoxic environment.  The closed bags are submerged in water at the base of a waterfall (cascada) on the farm.  This keeps the fermentation cool allowing the fermentation time to be extended without imparting any boozy or ethanol flavors to the coffee (something commonly seen in super long anaerobic fermentations).  The resulting coffee has all of the super fruited and complexly bright character of long anaerobic fermentation while remaining perfectly clean and clear and reflective of the unique terroir.    

Herbert Peñaloza Correa is a part of the newer generation of Colombian coffee producers.  Where the current trend in small-scale Colombian coffee production is focusing on using alternative processing and coffee flavoring methods that cover-up the less than ideal cup characteristics of hybridized varietals and greatly overshadow unique origin characteristics, Herbert focuses on soil and environmental health on his farms so he can successfully produce pure arabica varietals that have innately great cup characteristics without the need for flavoring agents or high-intensity processing to create differentiated and outstanding cups.      

On his farm, El Bocadillo, near the town of Casabianca in northern Tolima, Colombia, Herbert bucks the now-standard agricultural practices that were popularized by the Green Revolution which began in the late 20th century.  These practices focused on increased agricultural yields through the use of hybridized varietals, mechanization and intense synthetic agrochemical inputs.

Herbert practices hands-on, low impact agriculture which prioritizes the health of the soil and the environment on and surrounding the farm and closely manages his ecosystem though intercropping and proper shade management. 

Herbert purchased the farm in 2017 and started planting it with heirloom varietals (Typica, Tabi, Bourbon, Mundo Novo and Gesha) in 2018.  It sits at 1850m above sea level and neighbors a large nature preserve.  Herbert’s goal with the farm is to be a model for the sustainable production of high-scoring, heirloom varietals in the surrounding region. Along with the help of his team on the farm and in the La Real Expedición Botánica dry mill in Pereira, Herbert is producing some of the most exciting coffees coming out of Colombia.  

We are super stoked to offer these coffees, not only because they are incredibly impressive in the cup and come from a good friend, but also because we first started visiting El Bocadillo and talking with Herbert about his vision for coffee and for the farm since before he had coffee in the ground.  To see the reforestation of the land and the well-managed agriculture within this new-growth forest and the resulting excellence in the cup that Herbert's coffees show is nothing short of amazing. 

In addition to being a coffee producer, Herbert is also the founder of La Real Expedición Botanica (LaREB) 

LaREB is a Colombian collective lead by coffee producers, focused on bringing their coffees to specialty roasters in the USA and Europe.  These roasters value coffee as something more than a commodity and are willing to pay fair prices that are tied to cost of production and quality rather than the ever-fluctuating stock market.

The work of the collective is centered in interdisciplinary actions: coffee studies, research, nationwide reach and, above all, transparent work between all team members. LaREB looks to restore and reproduce traditional coffee cultivars and the agroforestry models that resisted the homogeny of the Green Revolution.  Their goal is to redesign coffee production in each regional project with a focus on quality.  Thus, expanding the boundaries of what specialty coffee can be through specialized farms, which serve as experimental centers of learning and dissemination of post-harvest practices and processes.

Bold Bean serves as the North American importer for LaREB.

We roast and ship Monday - Thursday.
Orders received before 10am typically ship same day.