April Recon, Spring into Colombia!
This month we get to visit Colombia! Okay, not really. But we do get to experience some excellent coffee from the town of Santa Maria in the Huila “department.” Yeah, I had to look that up but think of a department as a region that has more autonomy than a county, but maybe not as much as a state. Geopolitics aside, they make some yummy coffee beans!
Colombia has been synonymous with coffee for many generations thanks to Juan Valdez, a fictional character developed to market Colombian coffee in the U.S. since the 1960’s. It is also the third largest global producer of coffee behind Brazil and Vietnam. Colombia as an origin is not that foreign to Bugle Call Coffee. We’ve roasted several different coffees sourced from Colombia over the years. The most enjoyable aspects of this origin are its diversity of flavors and consistency in quality.
Our roast approach was slightly abbreviated compared to other new greens. We knew going in what we wanted to get from the coffee based on sample roasts we received from our importer Royal New York. That said, we roasted a customary light, medium, and dark sample to find the sweet spot. Once we confirmed our target, we zeroed in on the lower end of medium for our main bag. Our approach was to bring out sweetness and a touch of fruit while developing body that is commonly associated with coffees from this region. The main roast was relatively straightforward, which is very satisfying as a roaster. When a bean responds as predicted (well, more hope than prediction...) it almost makes you feel like you know what you’re doing!
Irregardless (it’s a word, the internet says so) of how a roaster feels about a roast, the proof is in the cup! On the cupping table it was well rounded, full bodied, sweet, with a light citrus finish. When we brewed it in our Fetco drip machine, it presented an incredibly drinkable coffee from hot to warm. Interestingly, the citrus was less apparent as the filtered coffee presented sweet, nutty, and dried fig notes. Cherry was also identified by a team member but it was a fleeting note as the coffee cooled.
The sample bag is the same bean, but taken to the top end of medium, just before second crack, which is the audible point of entering a dark roast. This approach demonstrates the versatility of the bean as we took the roast about 10 degrees hotter and about one minute longer in development. If you take a look a the main bag roast profile roasted on our 15Kg Mill City Roaster, you will see a drop temperature of 406 degrees Fahrenheit. The sample bag was roasted on our 1kg Aillio Bullet. You may notice the drop temp of 424 degrees Fahrenheit highlighted. Due to differences in the two roasters, that actually translates to about 10 degrees of actual difference, (which we will explore in a future article).
Flavors in the sample bag will be more reminiscent of traditional Colombian coffee with a touch of bitterness to accompany a light citrus note of grapefruit. At this darker level it remains a clean and balanced cup that many (myself included) will find a satisfying cup of Joe!
One final note on this month’s origin. We are excited to showcase this as a core component of our new Capital Blossom blend. Our intent is to create a coffee that compliments the warming days, singing birds, and blossoming flowers. Anyone else done with winter? If you’re in Arizona, Google “winter”, but if you are in Maine we might be out of this seasonal offering before you get to spring, so order now!
Happy cupping!
Adam