Colombia La Muralla

Description

This sweet, round, comforting lot from the La Muralla community of the San Augustin department of Huila, Colombia is our next iteration of our line of white coffees, and as per expectations, it comes through yummy both when doctored with milk, and taken simply black. In this lot, we find pleasant, mild red fruits, reminding us of dried cranberry, as well as a note of sweet black liquorice, and a more thick, robust dark caramel flavor which pleasantly lingers on the finish. This lot is a hyper-local blend of cherries picked by a collection of producers, all from the La Muralla community of the San Augustin department—one of the southernmost departments in the state of Huila. The average age of the farmers that contributed to this lot is between 20-25, making this a representation of the potential and promise that the next generation of coffee producers in Colombia have in store. Castillo, like colombia, is a cross between caturra and timor hybrid, also developed by Cenicafe. It was first released in 2005 in response to the persistence of coffee leaf rust. Where caturra was once the most common variety in Colombia, now castillo has taken its place, making up over 40% of all coffee grown there. Named for researcher Jamie Castillo, castillo does better than most varieties when planted in higher density due to the tree’s dwarfism, and as such has a relatively higher yield. Although its quality can range, castillo is able to yield beautiful final cups under careful cultivation, at altitude. In fact in a blind cupping alongside one of Colombia’s most lauded varieties, caturra, there was no notable difference in quality between the two varieties according to professional tasters. Caturra is a natural mutation of the bourbon variety, and was first discovered in the Minas Gerais region of Brazil between 1915 and 1918. It is common throughout South and Central America, and is known for its flavor quality at altitude. The colombia variety was developed by researchers at the Cenicafe laboratory in Colombia by crossing caturra and timor hybrid, and was first released for cultivation in 1982. It was bred in anticipation of future outbreaks of leaf rust in Colombia, and is relatively resistant as a consequence. Many credit this variety for saving the Colombian coffee industry following the arrival of leaf rust in the mid-1980’s. Although its quality can range, colombia is able to yield beautiful final cups under careful cultivation, at altitude.