Getting back into the flow of things here after our break, we are super stoked to announce the release of our 4th coffee from Marlon, potentially his best work yet, and our second year of working with Bambito Estate!
--
Colombia Marlon Bolaños PInk Bourbon Honey:
Marlon Bolaños's project "The Three Coffee Farmers" produces some of the highest quality we have ever seen from Huila. Despite growing up in a coffee producing family, it wasn't until the age of 17 that Marlon took an interest in it, signing himself up for a Barista education course at SENA where he learned brewing, green coffee grading, and sensory analysis. Upon returning from that course, Marlon began planting differentiated varietals like pink bourbon, gesha, and chiroso while experimenting with new fermentation techniques on each subsequent harvest. Flash forward to today, and the farm is now owned by Marlon and his 2 brothers, Pedro and Hemerson. Marlon is responsible for quality control, fermentation protocols, sampling and part of the logistics operations. Marlon has also competed and won in several barista and brewing competitions over the last several years, taking spring water from his family's farm for brewing. It's especially suited for coffee due to the natural trace mineral composition, and now coveted by peers after earning the name "Champion's Water." This specific late harvest pink bourbon lot underwent a double fermentation very similar to the process he used for his washed Gesha, first being kept in sealed plastic barrels in cherry without water for 48 hours before being depulped and bulk fermented in the barrels for another 48 hours, then finally dried for 10-15 days on raised beds as a honey. In the cup, we find intensely bright and sweet citric acidity like yuzu lemonade, which quickly cools to a more rounded raw honey note in the centerline. As the cup fully cools, an array of florals rises to the surface alongside a more delicate stonefruit, reminding you of this varietal's Ethiopian heritage. Apricot, bergamot, and jasmine all settle out into a delightfully juicy but still tealike brew.
--
Panama Bambito Estate Red Bourbon Natural:
In Chiriqui, Panama, Bambito Estate has been producing coffee since the early 1900s. Now in it's 4th and 5th generation in the hands of Priscilla and her son Ivan, the trees at Bambito Estate continue to produce some of our favorite coffees. Sitting between 1660-1800masl with 2 natural springs and its own cupping lab, greenhouse, and wet mill, Bambito Estate is ideally positioned for high quality and pays extreme attention to detail, not only to their prize winning washed Gesha, but also to the Caturra, Catuai, Yellow Catuai and Red Bourbon varietals also growing on their farm. Each year, they refine their processes and tweak their fermentation protocols, always seeking out incremental improvements and new flavor profiles. We feel it also very important to note, Priscilla and Ivan are some of the kindest folks we have ever met in coffee and have truly made an impression on us with their grace and respect, even when I personally was a greenbuyer with only 3 months experience under my belt a few years back, they took the time to visit and cup with us and even discuss sample roast profiles! We got to meetup with Ivan again at WOC San Diego this year and it was a delight. Now in our second year working with them on Shoebox, we are stoked to offer this traditionally processed Natural Red Bourbon. In the cup, we find an extremely intense fruited profile with a slightly lactic body that reminds us of a mango and pineapple smoothie. While hot, this is accompanied by a bright red ruby grapefruit acidity, that eventually cools into a slightly cleaner lemon-lime note and some very ripe apricot.