Colombia - Lizardo Herrera
Exceptionally clean and well-structured, with bright candied-lime acidity supported by juicy, fruit-forward notes reminiscent of fruit punch. A refined honeysuckle aroma frames both the opening and finish. Nicely fruit-toned without going into fruit-bomb territory.
We roast and ship Monday - Friday. Orders received before 9am typically ship same day.
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Technical Information
Producer: Lizardo Herrera
Region: Palestina, Huila, Colombia
Harvest: Summer 2025
Varietal(s): Colombia Rosado (pink bourbon)
Process: Over-ripe picking, 24 hour in-husk resting, 48 hour dry-mass fermentation, washing, 15 days drying in greenhouse.
Altitude: 1700 masl
Exporter: La Real Expedición Botánica
Importer: Bold Bean
Agrton Gourmet Color: 102 (light)
Roasters Cupping Score: 87.5
Recommend Resting Time: 2-3 weeks
Coffee Story
Lizardo Herrera’s farm outside Palestina, in Huila, southern Colombia, is defined by dense shade and a forest-like growing environment uncommon for the region. Towering oak trees and a diverse canopy slow cherry maturation, allowing sugars and acids to develop more fully before harvest. This extended ripening contributes to increased sweetness, layered acidity, and a more substantial body in the cup.
Coffee is harvested at peak ripeness and processed using a controlled, non-traditional fermentation designed to enhance fruit clarity and complexity without obscuring origin character. This lot undergoes a combination of in-cherry fermentation and fed-batch fermentation prior to washing.
On the first harvest day, cherries ferment whole for 12 hours before being depulped and transferred to a fermentation tank. Over the next four days, freshly harvested cherries follow the same process and are added daily to the actively fermenting coffee. Each addition introduces new sugars, sustaining yeast activity and extending fermentation dynamics across the batch.
The result is a staggered fermentation in which the first day’s coffee ferments for approximately 120 hours in tank, with each subsequent day receiving proportionally less time. After fermentation, the coffee is fully washed and dried for approximately 15 days. While this approach differs significantly from the 12–18 hour fermentations typical of Colombian washed coffees, it produces a cup profile that remains clean and structured while highlighting the tropical fruit character for which Huila is known.
This coffee is sourced through our partners at LaREB and marks our fifth harvest working with Lizardo Herrera.
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Varietal
Colombia Rosado is an Ethiopian Landrace varietal hybridized with the Colombia varietal. Oftentimes misnomered as Pink Bourbon. The varietal is grown widely in Huila due to its potential for a high-quality cup profile. Varietal specific characteristics focus on a medium body, medium to high acidity and notes of stone fruit, currant, citrus and other tropical fruits oftentimes accompanied by floral notes.
Process
For this lot, the coffee was harvested overripe. This concentrates the brix of sugar in the cherries which provides more fuel, so to say, for fermentation. After harvesting, Yoiner rests the cherries in sacks for 24 hours before depulping. This further concentrates the sugars and increases acids within the cherries. This contributes to more sweetness and complexity in the cup.
Following resting, the coffee is depulped and dry-mass fermented for 48 hours. Luis' coffee benefit from long fermentation without over fermenting due to the higher sugar content in the fermenting mass. This long fermentation amplifies the complexity, acidity and sweetness.
After fermentation, the coffee is washed and dried in greenhouses for 15 days.
It's easy for the process to take center stage when pushing long fermentation times but the process Yoiner uses results in a supremely clean and clear flavor profile which highlights the varietal and terroir.
Terroir
Huila is a mountainous region in southern Colombia with a longstanding tradition of and storied reputation for high-quality coffee production. Huila is the epicenter of high-quality coffee production in Colombia. All of the Huila coffees we buy are from farms in and around the small town of Palestina. The area has two harvests a year, a main crop from October to January and a small (fly-crop) from May to July. Most of the producers in the area are small-scale with farms between 1 and 3 hectares. The producers we work with in Palestina are focused on growing high percentages of pure arabica varietals and they use processing methods that highlight both the varietal and terroir. The combination of terroir, varietals grown and processing commonly used by the best producers in this micro-region result in coffees with high and complex acidity, full body and incredible sweetness.