Colombia Jose Guillermo

Producer: Jose Guillermo Toro, El Balsal

Country, Region: Colombia, Nariño, Las Cochas

Variety: Castillo

Elevation: 2000 masl

Process: Washed

Enjoy Luna Coffee Roasters March 2021 Release

This coffee has a striking flavor profile of buckwheat honey and wild blueberries (imagine buckwheat blueberry pancakes) with the intensity diminishing a bit as it cools changing into a more approachable sip of warm blueberry syrup with hints of raspberry on the finish. Mouthfeel is light-bodied and slightly creamy like mild yogurt and the aftertaste is pleasant and crisp. Overall this is unique coffee with a great story behind it (read the roaster’s notes for more).

Roaster’s notes: (edited) José Guillermo Toro is a specialty coffee producer who has been growing coffee for the last 20 years. This farm called El Balsal is in the village of Las Cochas, at 2,000 meters above sea level. Guillermo’s farm spans six hectares, with 4 of those planted with the Castillo variety. José has 20,000 trees. Four thousand trees were stumped in 2018 and entered their next period of the production end of this past year. Guillermo likes Castillo because of its high yield, resistance to coffee leaf rust and aromatic cup. After the careful hand-selection of the ripe Castillo cherries, Guillermo carried out the traditional post-collection process – known in Colombia as the beneficio – by himself (which has won him local and nationwide recognition). The signature lactic and honeyed flavour of Josés coffee is purely intentional, since year after year, its a banger. After the pickers bring in the cherries, Guillermo starts the de-pulping process in the afternoon. He fermented the seeds for 12 hours and then washed them, after which he dried the seeds on cement patios for eight days.