Colombia — Café Granja La Esperanza, Las Margaritas — Sudan Rume (Washed)

Tastes Like — 🍵 Green Tea • 🍋 Citrus • 🌿 Lemongrass • 🫚 Ginger

DETAILS

• Producer: Café Granja La Esperanza (Rigoberto & Luis Herrera)
• Farm: Las Margaritas
• Region: Valle del Cauca, Colombia
• Varietal: Sudan Rume
• Process: Washed
• Score: 89
• Harvest: 2025
• Size: 100g

INTRO

This is Sudan Rume at its most elegant — processed with impeccable restraint using a clean washed method that lets the variety's naturally herbaceous and citrus-driven character take centre stage. From Las Margaritas, one of Café Granja La Esperanza's flagship farms, it offers a tasting experience as atypical as it is refined.

The cup opens with the delicacy of green tea, progresses through a vivid citrus brightness, and finishes with the cool spice of lemongrass and a subtle ginger note. Juicy, elegant, and unmistakably Sudan Rume.

THE PRODUCER

Café Granja La Esperanza (CGLE) is one of Colombia's most revered specialty coffee operations, a family business founded in 1945 and now run by siblings Rigoberto and Luis Herrera. Their portfolio spans several high-altitude farms in the Valle del Cauca — Potosi, Cerro Azul, La Esperanza, and Las Margaritas — each yielding distinctive, variety-led micro-lots of exceptional consistency.

CGLE was among the first to introduce Geisha to Colombia and has since pioneered work with rare varieties including Sudan Rume, a variety of ancient Ethiopian origin with one of the lowest caffeine contents of any arabica and an aromatic profile unlike anything else in the cup. The estate is also known for hybrid development programmes and a deep commitment to social impact and worker welfare across its farms.

THE PROCESS

The Washed process at Las Margaritas involves:

• 🍒 Selective Harvest — Cherries picked at peak ripeness by hand
• 💧 Washing & Depulping — Fruit removed using mechanical depulpers, then washed thoroughly
• 🧪 Fermentation — Controlled fermentation to remove residual mucilage
• ☀️ Raised-Bed Drying — Slow drying on raised beds to preserve the variety's precision and clarity
• ✅ Quality Control — Rigorous sorting and cupping at each stage

The clean washed approach at CGLE is designed to reveal the inherent character of each variety without interference — letting the Sudan Rume's herbal, citrus, and spice notes express themselves with maximum clarity.

THE CUP

A remarkably elegant and unusual cup that rewards careful attention. Green tea finesse opens proceedings, before vivid citrus acidity arrives with energy and structure. Lemongrass and a subtle ginger warmth bring a spiced complexity to the finish — the whole experience is juicy, precise, and deeply satisfying.

Flavour Notes

• 🍵 Green Tea
• 🍋 Citrus
• 🌿 Lemongrass
• 🫚 Ginger