Heresy - Colombia El Tambo Washed Filter 252 g

Whole-bean specialty coffee from Colombia, roasted by Heresy roasting brand. Light roast, perfect for filter coffee machines, drippers, Chemex, AeroPress, French Press, and other pour-over brewing methods. The brew resembles the flavour of bilberry, sweet citrus, flowers and chocolate.

Origin: Colombia

Region: Cauca

Farm: El Tambo 

Processing: Washed

Altitude: 1900 - 2150 m n. p. m.

Cupping score: 86 / 100 pkt

ABOUT THE FARM AND COFFEE PRODUCERS

This exceptionally clean and complex lot is the result of the work of four small producers from the Cauca region. Willian Hoyos, Julián Sandoval, Rubén Castillo, and Yovany Muñoz grow coffee on several-hectare farms in the El Tambo micro-region, located west of the capital of the Cauca department, Popayán.

The phenomenal quality of their coffee is driven by the following synergy of factors:

• the microclimate of El Tambo and cultivation at elevations exceeding 2,000 meters above sea level result in slower cherry maturation, while lower humidity facilitates the drying process: processed coffee loses moisture in a predictable and controlled manner,
• a well-thought-out and precisely planned system of pruning and thinning older, less productive parts of the coffee trees to ensure optimal airflow and sunlight penetration,
• the producers’ modern knowledge of fertilization combined with a traditional practice locally known as “re-re,” which involves selectively harvesting overripe, underripe, or dried cherries and leaving them on the ground near the coffee trees. As a result, more pests feed on this “waste” instead of attacking healthy plants,
• and, of course, a conscious and strict selection of cherries harvested at optimal ripeness, supported by years of experience in fermentation and drying processes.

Harvesting is carried out exclusively by local residents, who form the core of the community of several small villages in El Tambo. This community has naturally developed over generations around the continuous, seasonal cycle of coffee cultivation.

ABOUT COFFEE PROCESSING ON THE FARM

Castillo variety, hand-picked, with the beans separated from the fruit immediately after harvest. Fermented in tanks for approximately 36 hours, then washed up to three times to completely remove any remaining mucilage from the parchment. Slowly dried for about 15 days on raised beds. Homogenized and stabilized for a further several days.

ROASTER’S NOTE

A time machine. I remember this profile of washed Colombian coffee from a decade ago. Then it disappeared for a few years, or became much harder to find. But it’s back again. Multi-layered, elegant, vibrant, and soft. Everything here evokes ripe, juicy fruit.