Finca Tamana Bourbon

Colombia — Elias Roa & Bellanid Sanchez Finca Tamana Red Bourbon (Washed)

Tastes Like — 🍷 Winey • 🫐 Red Fruits • 🌸 Floral

DETAILS

• Producer: Elias Roa & Bellanid Sanchez
• Farm: Finca Tamana
• Region: El Pital, Huila, Colombia
• Varietal: Red Bourbon
• Process: Washed (Eco-Mill, 24hr Fermentation + 24hr Soak)
• Harvest: May–June 2025
• Size: 250g

INTRO

From Elias Roa and Bellanid Sanchez at Finca Tamana in El Pital — a Red Bourbon grown from seeds planted together with Tim Wendelboe back in June 2014, with the trees themselves going into the ground on a small hill at the farm in August 2015. Over a decade of patience has paid off: sweet, winey, and fruity, this is consistently one of the best coffees Tamana has produced. In the cup: winey depth, red fruits, and floral lift.

THE PRODUCER

Finca Tamana is a 57-hectare coffee plantation in the mountains between El Pital and La Plata in Huila, acquired by Elias Roa in 2011 after a period of abandonment and now managed by Elias and his family alongside Bellanid Sanchez. The farm has become a long-running collaborative project — over the years, Tim and Elias have introduced more than 30 new cultivars to Tamana, with this Red Bourbon being one of the most successful results yet.

Bourbon is one of the most genetically important Arabica cultivars in the world — many newer cultivars including Caturra, Mundo Novo, Villa Sarchi, and Pacas all descend from it. Introduced from Réunion (formerly Bourbon Island) to Brazil around 1860, it spread quickly across Central and South America. A tall plant with naturally low yields but exceptional quality potential, Bourbon's susceptibility to leaf rust is the main reason most Colombian Bourbon was historically replaced by Caturra and resistant hybrids like Castillo and Variedad Colombia. Grown well, though — as it is at Tamana — it remains among Tim's all-time favourite cultivars, and he has actively encouraged Elias and Bellanid to plant more.

THE PROCESS

The Washed Eco-Mill process at Finca Tamana involves:

🍒 Hand-picking — Cherries selectively picked by hired pickers under Elias's supervision, hand-sorted before processing to ensure only ripe cherries proceed together 🌙 Overnight hopper storage — Cherries stored in the open-air cherry hopper overnight before depulping the following morning 🔧 Depulping — Outer skin removed in the morning 🧪 24-hour fermentation — Parchment coffee with mucilage fermented for 24 hours in clean stainless steel tanks, stopped once the mucilage is easy to clean off and before negative fermentation flavours develop 💧 Eco-mill washing — Washed using a mechanical mucilage remover that reduces water use from 50–100 litres per kilo to just 0.5–1 litre per kilo 💧 24-hour soak — Soaked in clean water in tiled cement tanks for 24 hours, with all low-density floaters removed during washing and soaking ☀️ Parabolic drying — Dried in parabolic dryers and shade-netted drying beds for 20–30 days, raked throughout the day for even drying, until moisture content drops below 11%

The precisely timed 24-hour fermentation combined with the eco-mill washing is the defining step — stopping fermentation at exactly the right moment preserves the clean, winey sweetness and red fruit character that define this Bourbon, while the eco-mill's dramatic reduction in water use reflects Tamana's broader commitment to sustainable, low-impact processing.

THE CUP

A sweet, winey, and fruity washed Red Bourbon from one of Huila's most rewarding long-term farm collaborations — red fruit depth and floral lift in a cup that represents over a decade of patient cultivation finally coming good. One of the best coffees Tamana has produced, and a clear case for planting more.

Flavour Notes

🍷 Winey 🫐 Red Fruits 🌸 Floral