Ilse Coffee - Reinaldo Chilito | Colombia

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Colombia — Reinaldo Chilito El Paraíso Pink Bourbon (Washed)

Tastes Like — 🍑 Nectarine • 🥭 Mango • 🌸 Orange Blossom & Rose

DETAILS

• Producer: Reinaldo Chilito
• Farm: El Paraíso
• Region: El Purutal, San Agustín, Huila, Colombia
• Varietal: Pink Bourbon
• Process: Washed
• Altitude: 1,859–1,920 MASL
• Harvest: September 22nd–27th, 2025
• Size: 250g

INTRO

From Reinaldo Chilito's El Paraíso in San Agustín — only his second season selling coffee as a microlot, and already producing one of the most dynamic Pink Bourbons ilse coffee tasted this year. Their highest-scoring Pink Bourbon of the season, in fact. Intensely ripe, jammy, and layered. In the cup: nectarine, mango, orange blossom, rose florals, and a candy-like sweetness that runs throughout.

THE PRODUCER

Reinaldo Chilito was born and raised in San Agustín, developing a deep love for the land from an early age — helping with sugarcane and seasonal crops by age nine, and receiving his first quarter hectare of land as a gift from his parents at fourteen. At 22, he met his wife Doña Mariela, and as their family grew, so did the farm. In 2016, Reinaldo planted his first Pink Bourbon trees after learning of the variety's quality potential, and spent several years selling locally without traceability before discovering the Monkaaba project. His first microlot under his own name marked the beginning of a new chapter in a lifelong dedication to coffee — and the quality of El Paraíso's output suggests there is much more to come.

Pink Bourbon, one of Colombia's most celebrated and sought-after varietals, thrives in the distinct microclimate of San Agustín at 1,859–1,920 MASL — where the elevation, cool temperatures, and carefully managed fermentation allow its characteristic jammy fruit and floral complexity to express themselves at their fullest.

THE PROCESS

The Washed process at El Paraíso involves:

🍒 Hand-picking — Cherries picked at peak ripeness every three weeks 🧪 Whole cherry fermentation — Freshly harvested cherries fermented intact for 24 hours 🔧 Depulping — Outer skin removed after the initial fermentation 🧪 Pulp-contact fermentation — Depulped beans fermented for a further 24 hours alongside the pulp from the prior day's picking 💧 Washing — Seeds thoroughly washed after fermentation ☀️ Drying room drying — Dried in drying rooms for 15–20 days

The two-stage fermentation — 24 hours whole cherry, followed by 24 hours in contact with the previous day's pulp — is the defining step. The pulp-contact phase is a particularly distinctive technique, allowing the organic compounds from the fermented pulp to interact with the freshly depulped seeds and build the intensely ripe, jammy fruit character that makes this lot so expressive.

THE CUP

A stunning and intensely jammy washed Pink Bourbon from one of San Agustín's most exciting emerging producers — ripe nectarine and mango sweetness layered with orange blossom and rose florality, and a long candy-like finish that lingers beautifully. A coffee that announces Reinaldo Chilito's arrival at the very top of the microlot market.

Flavour Notes

🍑 Nectarine 🥭 Mango 🌸 Orange Blossom & Rose