Neon Milk | Colombia (200g)

Colombia — Neon Milk (Henry Bonilla Pink Bourbon)

Tastes Like — 🍓 Strawberry Milkshake • 🌺 Hibiscus • 🍬 White Sugar

DETAILS

• Producer: Henry Bonilla
• Farm: Finca La Florida (previously mentioned)
• Region: Huila, Colombia
• Varietal: Pink Bourbon
• Process: Hibiscus Cultured Washed
• Altitude: 1750 masl
• Size: 200g

INTRO — Hibiscus-Cultured Pink Bourbon Creating Strawberry Milkshake

Neon Milk represents DAK Coffee Roasters' approach to high-intervention processing—playful, precise, and slightly psychedelic. Henry Bonilla's Pink Bourbon undergoes a hibiscus-cultured washed process where coffee ferments with hibiscus flowers before washing, creating an intensely floral profile reminiscent of strawberry milkshake with hibiscus and white sugar. It's sweet, dreamy, and a little trippy—exactly what the name promises.

The process involves controlled fermentation with selected yeasts and a hibiscus culture, followed by a thermal rinse that stabilises aromatics. The result is sweet and expressive with a silky body, clean sweetness, and fragrant finish. This is modern coffee processing combining technical precision with a unique sensory experience that's fun, vibrant, and unmistakably DAK.

THE PRODUCER — Henry Bonilla's Experimental Processing

Henry Bonilla appears multiple times in this collection (we saw his Sudan Rume from Hydrangea earlier), demonstrating his willingness to work with roasters on experimental processing protocols. Managing Finca La Florida at 1,750 metres in Huila, Henry has become known for producing high-quality Pink Bourbon that serves as an ideal canvas for innovative processing.

The choice of Pink Bourbon for this hibiscus culture is strategic. The variety's naturally floral characteristics and glucose-based sugar composition create a foundation that complements rather than conflicts with the hibiscus addition. Where some varieties might be overwhelmed by such an intense floral culture, Pink Bourbon's genetics embrace it, creating synergy between varietal character and processing innovation.

Henry's collaboration with DAK represents the kind of producer-roaster partnership that drives specialty coffee forward. DAK likely specifies the exact processing protocol—yeast strains, hibiscus quantity, fermentation timing, thermal rinse parameters—whilst Henry executes with the precision required to achieve consistent results. This level of collaboration requires trust, communication, and shared commitment to quality.

THE PROCESS — Hibiscus Cultured Washed with Thermal Stabilisation

The hibiscus-cultured washed process represents sophisticated fermentation science combined with creative ingredient selection:

• 🍒 Selective Harvesting — Peak-ripeness Pink Bourbon cherries picked
• ⚙️ Depulping — Cherries depulped to expose mucilage-covered parchment
• 🌺 Hibiscus Culture Addition — Hibiscus flowers added to fermentation
• 🔬 Controlled Fermentation with Selected Yeasts — Specific yeast strains combined with hibiscus culture
• ⏱️ Extended Fermentation Period — Coffee ferments in hibiscus-yeast culture
• 🔥 Thermal Rinse — Temperature-controlled rinse stabilises aromatics
• 💧 Final Wash — Complete mucilage removal highlighting sweetness and clarity
• ☀️ Controlled Drying — Careful drying preserves developed aromatics

The hibiscus flowers during fermentation contribute both flavour compounds and additional microbes that influence fermentation chemistry. Hibiscus is naturally high in anthocyanins (the same compounds giving Pink Bourbon its colour) and organic acids that contribute tartness and floral character. When combined with selected yeasts, this creates a fermentation environment that develops the strawberry-hibiscus profile that defines this coffee.

The thermal rinse is crucial—it stabilises the volatile aromatic compounds developed during fermentation, preventing them from degrading during drying. This step requires precise temperature control; too hot and you damage aromatics, too cold and you don't achieve stabilisation. The final wash highlights sweetness and clarity, creating the smooth, creamy texture that makes the strawberry milkshake comparison so accurate.

THE VARIETY — Pink Bourbon as Processing Canvas

Pink Bourbon's mysterious origins (likely Ethiopian landrace rather than actual Bourbon) give it the pronounced florals and complex fruit characteristics that make it ideal for experimental processing. The glucose-based sugar composition creates a smoother, silkier body than sucrose-dominant varieties—contributing to the "milkshake" texture that defines this lot.

When processed with hibiscus culture, Pink Bourbon's natural floral tendencies amplify rather than compete. The variety wants to be floral; the hibiscus culture just turns that dial up to eleven, creating the "slightly psychedelic" character DAK describes. It's processing that enhances genetics rather than obscuring them.

THE CUP — Strawberry Milkshake with Psychedelic Florals

Neon Milk delivers exactly what its name and tasting notes promise: creamy strawberry milkshake with vibrant hibiscus florals and sweet vanilla. It's intensely sweet, playfully floral, and genuinely reminiscent of drinking a strawberry milkshake whilst sniffing hibiscus flowers. The profile is expressive, fun, and modern—coffee that doesn't take itself too seriously whilst maintaining technical excellence.

Flavour Notes

• 🍓 Strawberry Milkshake — creamy, sweet strawberry character with milkshake texture
• 🌺 Hibiscus — vibrant, floral hibiscus character from the culture
  
• 🍬 White Sugar — clean sweetness throughout

The strawberry milkshake character is immediately apparent—it's not fresh strawberries, but creamy, blended strawberry like an actual milkshake. There's sweetness, creaminess, and that distinctive strawberry flavour that's both fresh and dessert-like. Hibiscus florals provide the "slightly psychedelic" element—vibrant, intense, almost overwhelming in their aromatic presence. Vanilla adds smoothness and depth, rounding out the profile with creamy sweetness. White sugar notes describe the clean, pure sweetness throughout—not caramelised or complex, just sweet in the most straightforward, enjoyable way.

The body is silky and smooth, that glucose-based Pink Bourbon mouthfeel amplified by the processing. The acidity is present but gentle, more structural than bright—providing backbone without sharpness. The finish is fragrant and lingering, with those hibiscus florals extending beautifully alongside strawberry sweetness.

This is DAK Coffee Roasters showcasing what they do best: taking exceptional raw material and applying high-intervention processing with technical precision to create something genuinely unique. Neon Milk is fun, vibrant, and slightly trippy whilst remaining balanced and delicious—proof that experimental processing can be both playful and professional.

We recommend brewing with beans that are at least two weeks off roast. All beans are roasted to peak flavour at around 8-12 weeks. We have the option to either purchase standard beans (at least 2 weeks but no longer than 6 weeks off roast), or rested beans (at least 7 weeks off roast, no longer than 12). For peak flavour, if you are looking to use immediately, we recommend purchasing the rested beans. If you are adding to your rotation of beans, we recommend purchasing the standard and allowing the beans to naturally rest and mature whilst you rotate through other beans.