Black & White Roasters - Marlon Bolaños - Pink Bourbon | Colombia

Colombia — Marlon Bolaños Three Coffee Farmers Pink Bourbon (Anaerobic Honey)

Tastes Like — 🌹 Tea Rose • 🍍 Pineapple • 🍬 Panela Sugar

DETAILS

• Producer: Marlon Bolaños
• Farm: Three Coffee Farmers
• Region: Acevedo, Huila, Colombia
• Varietal: Pink Bourbon
• Process: Anaerobic Honey
• Elevation: 1,670 masl

INTRO Pink Bourbon was brought to Colombia from Ethiopia, and that lineage shows clearly here — clean, vibrant, and tea-like, with an aroma like tea rose and a sweetness akin to panela sugar. The pineapple note is pronounced and delightful, and the whole cup sips like oolong tea. In the cup: tea rose, pineapple, and panela sugar.

THE PRODUCER Coffee has always been the Bolaños family's livelihood, but everything changed when Marlon enrolled in a barismo course at SENA at 17, learning brewing, green coffee evaluation, and sensory analysis — and realising his family's approach to production needed to change. At 21, Marlon founded Three Coffee Farmers with his brothers Hemerson (23) and Pedro (23). The trio began by differentiating the varieties grown on their farm, with Marlon refining processing methods through trial and error. Today, the three brothers make up an absurdly young trio of champions — Hemerson and Pedro manage crops and day-to-day farm work, while Marlon oversees processing, sample preparation, cupping, and commercial strategy. What began as curiosity has evolved into a commitment to continued learning, growth, and excellence.

THE PROCESS Cherries harvested at peak ripeness are quality-sorted by density, then undergo a short 48-hour anaerobic fermentation in sealed tanks while whole. After pulping, they undergo an additional 48 hours of anaerobic fermentation in mucilage, before spreading in sun bed dryers for 20 days until reaching 11% moisture.

The double 48-hour anaerobic fermentation — first whole, then in mucilage after pulping — is the defining step. It's what builds the clean, tea-rose aromatics and panela sweetness that define this cup, while the honey drying preserves the pronounced pineapple character.

THE CUP Clean, vibrant, and tea-like — tea rose aromatics lead, with panela sugar sweetness throughout and a pronounced, delightful pineapple note. The whole cup sips like oolong tea, a testament to three brothers just getting started.

Flavour Notes 🌹 Tea Rose 🍍 Pineapple 🍬 Panela Sugar