Peru — Familia Fernandez, Colasay Bourbon (Washed)

Tastes Like — 🍵 Black Tea • 🍇 Dried Fig • 🍑 Stone Fruit • 🍎 Red Apple

DETAILS

• Producer: Familia Fernandez
• Farm: Familia Fernandez
• Region: Colasay, Cajamarca, Peru
• Varietal: Bourbon
• Process: Washed
• Altitude: 1,800–2,200 MASL
• Size: 250g

INTRO

Colasay has quietly become one of Peru's most exciting specialty coffee regions, and Familia Fernandez is a name that exemplifies why. Their washed Bourbon from the high farms of Cajamarca delivers everything that draws coffee lovers to this corner of the country: a refined, elegant structure; layered sweetness; and that distinctive black tea character that makes great Peruvian coffee so compelling.

Prolog have developed a strong relationship with this family over recent seasons, supported by their import partner Origin Coffee Lab. Roastery manager Mikolaj visited the area in both 2023 and 2025 and has been consistently impressed by the quality improvements taking place across Colasay's producer community — improvements that Familia Fernandez exemplify beautifully.

THE PRODUCER

Familia Fernandez farm their land in the Colasay district of Cajamarca, Peru, at altitudes ranging from 1,800 to 2,200 metres above sea level. The Colasay region is particularly well-suited to the Bourbon de Colasay variety — a regional mutation that expresses a distinctive flavour profile characterised by dried fruit sweetness, elegant acidity, and a clean, tea-like body.

The Fernandez family cultivates their coffee with care and precision, applying a fully washed process that has been refined over years of collaboration with Origin Coffee Lab and their network of specialty buyers. The cool, misty climate of Colasay encourages slow cherry development and an unhurried drying process that helps preserve the coffee's most delicate aromatic qualities.

THE PROCESS

The Washed process at Familia Fernandez involves:

• 🍒 Selective Harvest — Ripe Bourbon cherries hand-picked at peak maturity
• 🔧 Depulping — Mechanical removal of the cherry skin
• 🧪 Fermentation — Beans fermented in tanks to develop structure and complexity
• 💧 Washing — Fully washed to remove residual mucilage and ensure cup clarity
• ☀️ Drying — Slow-dried on raised beds in Colasay's cool highland climate

The extended drying time typical of the Colasay region results in coffees that retain exceptional freshness and complexity — a quality that has come to define the area's reputation in the specialty market.

THE CUP

An elegant, deeply satisfying cup that captures the best of Peruvian Bourbon. Black tea structure frames notes of dried fig and stone fruit, with a red apple brightness adding lift and clarity. Smooth, refined, and beautifully balanced — a coffee that reveals more with every sip.

Flavour Notes

• 🍵 Black Tea
• 🍇 Dried Fig
• 🍑 Stone Fruit
• 🍎 Red Apple