This is our first solstice headliner: A juicy, clean, summery beauty with a leading note of ... sugar! It's just SO sweet. The second note is fresh-pressed guava juice. There isn't much funk here for a Colombian natural – just 100% sugar and juice, and we think you're going to love it as our first big drop to mark the seasons, perfect for iced brews and cold treatments.
This coffee also carries a new, sunny label colour and (inside the box) a special seasonal illustration card from our beloved pal Jackie Morris, glimpsed above.
Here's more about the coffee itself:
The producers of this coffee are located in the municipality of Oporapa, Huila, one of the pioneering regions in Colombia for specialty coffee. It all started in the 1990s with a group of smallholder Oporapa coffee producers who invested in higher-quality coffee through training in selective picking, post-harvest processing, and slow drying, all innovative practices at the time. Oporapa also benefits from fertile volcanic soils, a temperate climate, and well-distributed rainfall, conditions ideal for coffee cultivation.
Natural-processed coffees are not common in Huila due to its rainy climate, which poses a risk for mold development and requires significant drying time and space. There is an additional risk: commercial buyers often purchase it at very low prices, as natural coffees are less likely to align with the flavour profiles preferred by Colombia’s primary coffee export professionals, who generally favour the clean acidity of washed lots.
When our friends at Minga received specific orders for classic naturals from European roasters, this became a great opportunity for the producers they work with. Because they could eliminate the market risk and guarantee the sale, naturals became an attractive option, and Minga suggested using varietals that typically yield the lowest cup scores when washed: Castillo and Colombia. This would result in better payment than if the coffee had been washed. This 'Midsummer' lot is made of contributions from three different producer teams, including Hervey and Rocio Cuellar, whose other natural we sold earlier this year.
Elevation: 1600-1800 MASL
Varietal: Castillo, Colombia
Cup Score: 88.5
Price paid per kg: £11.90
Process: Natural
