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New coffee:COLOMBIA FINCA EL HABANO

Were on a bit of a roll here. So many amazing new coffees to share with you, I’m liking the pace of getting them out there. It will slow down eventually I promise but for now lets keep it up.

We bought so many small colombian lots, all diverse all from individual producers. We could have blended some of them together for region lots, but I think its better to see them as what they are. By doing this we have some super special small lots, that really exciting and show the diversity of these areas.

As always you can buy it here 

 

 

 

 

This is another of our coffees from my Colombia trip in September 2012. It was bought from lots of coffee being cupped and being able to pick the lots I enjoyed the most. This meant that we had little control over the lot sizes, this was one of the larger lots, although it still remains tiny amount of coffee.

Jose de Jesus Ramirez produces coffee for over 10 years from his small farm around four hectares which works out around 8000 coffee trees. For the area this is one of the bigger ones with the average only being 3 hectares.

In the Central Mountain range of Colombia’s Andes Mountains, sitting beneath the Nevado del Huila within the Tolima province, lies the small town of Gaitania de Planadas, home to 50 coffee growers, with Jose being one of them. Nevado del Huila, an active volcano, with a summit which sits 5,365 meters above sea level.

Due to the volcanic activity of Nevado del Hulia , the area surrounding the Nevado del Huila is among the most fertile in Colombia and provides an excellent microclimate for growing coffee.

The coffee pickers are paid higher premiums ensuring only ripe cherries are collected. The producers depulp their coffee into fermentation tanks on the farms making sure there is no time wasted between picking and processing. They are naturally fermented for 18-20 hours in tanks, washed and then dried raised indian beds.

The area of Gaitania has been an place of great unrest in the past years. This is the epicentre of the gorilla fighting and drug war of past years, although there have been great improvements in recent years.

In 2009 the coop installed a full cupping lab in Gaitania where each lot of coffee is cupped and analyzed. This provides feedback to producers so they can see how their coffees taste and are developing. It also highlights amazing special lots like this one that may find a special place with a smaller buyer like ourselves.

The coffee pickers are paid higher premiums ensuring only ripe cherries are collected. The producers depulp their coffee into fermentation tanks on the farms making sure there is no time wasted between picking and processing. They are naturally fermented for 18-20 hours in tanks, washed and then dried raised indian beds.

In the cup this for me is the perfect espresso coffee. Dark chocolate and coco give it a huge big body and mouthfeel while the delicate caramel gives it a sweetness that balances the cup. The slightest hint of grape and melon acidity. Delicious balanced cup.

Coffee:Finca El Habano
Origin:Southern Colombian state of Tolima, small town of Gaitania
Producers Jose de Jesus Ramirez
Altitude:1800 meters
Farm Size: 4 Hectors
Varieties:Caturra, typica and Colombia
Processing Method:Washed
Drying Method:Sun dried on raised indian beds
Harvest:Main: April – June

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