Colombia — Café Granja La Esperanza Las Margaritas Yellow Bourbon (Advanced/Hybrid Washed)

Tastes Like — 🍑 Yellow Plum • 🍍 Pineapple • 🌸 Tropical Blossoms

DETAILS

• Producer: Café Granja La Esperanza
• Farm: Las Margaritas
• Region: Valle del Cauca, Colombia
• Varietal: Yellow Bourbon
• Process: Advanced (Hybrid) Washed
• Altitude: 1,860 masl

INTRO A humble Yellow Bourbon elevated far beyond expectations through processing — from Las Margaritas, a world-famous farm that's produced some of Colombia's best coffees for nearly two decades. Big tropical fruit and high sweetness dominate up front, giving way to delicate florality that lingers in the aftertaste. In the cup: yellow plum, pineapple, and tropical blossoms.

THE PRODUCER Las Margaritas has been a name in Colombian coffee for good reason: their coffee has featured on both the World Barista Championship and World Brewers Cup finals stages, used by competitors reading like a who's-who of coffee — Lex Wenneker, Lance Hendrik, Andrea Allen, and as far back as Charles Babinski. The farm employs some of the most highly skilled agronomists in the industry and runs dedicated research facilities pushing the boundaries of processing and varietal research, not just in Colombia, but globally.

THE PROCESS This lot is Hybrid Washed, going through two phases of fermentation before drying. Cherries are depulped mechanically with no water — hence "hybrid washed" — then fermented with the flesh and skins still present for around 20 hours, agitated and tasted throughout to monitor complexity without over-fermenting. The fruit material is then removed, but the coffee remains unwashed, left to ferment in the remaining mucilage for another 35 hours, before mechanical drying at 35-45°C.

This double fermentation — first with fruit intact, then in residual mucilage — is the defining step. The coffee reads as washed but carries unmistakable natural characteristics, which is what builds the big tropical fruit and high sweetness that define this cup.

THE CUP Sweetness-forward and tropical — big yellow plum and pineapple flavour dominate the initial experience, giving way to delicate tropical blossom florality that lingers in the aftertaste. Shines as filter, with enough body and structure to hold up as espresso too.

Flavour Notes 🍑 Yellow Plum 🍍 Pineapple 🌸 Tropical Blossoms