Traveling with a cup in hand

"Having someone who understands me—that's my only need in life," Gabriel García Márquez once wrote. If we were to add a cup of Colombia-La Palmera coffee to the need mentioned by the Colombian Nobel Prize winner. What is it like?

Surprising, rebellious, wild. Hypnotizing. A veritable explosion, artistry in every drop of golden infusion. Colombian coffee, as intense and rich in extremes as its origins. First, you're struck by the unexpected, slightly bitter flavor of cocoa, only to be led a moment later by the stimulating notes of tropical fruit. And you feel the sweet-and-sour company of berries telling you the stories they've witnessed: the fates of daredevils trying to reach El Dorado, the famed land of gold; evenings spent in love to the rhythm of salsa; and the chilling secrets of the drug cartels. But before you can worry, the safe presence of caramel whispers words of comfort in your ear.

Anaerobic-processed beans delight with their abstract sensory profile, exciting and inspiring. This is precisely what Colombia - La Palmera is: a coffee straight from a Colombian hacienda, chosen as Coffeedesk's Espresso of the Month.

The secret of Colombian coffee flavor

Colombia is one of the most diverse countries in the world: with two oceans, distinct climates, vibrant cities, astonishing and sometimes terrifying wildlife, and a history that defies description. It's no surprise, then, that Colombian coffee has such an intense sensory profile. In fact, we'd be surprised if the beans were predictable in taste. Why?

Coffee was introduced to Colombia in the early eighteenth century by Jesuit priests who arrived with Spanish settlers. But the coffee industry's beginnings in this country are as humble as those in other South American countries. It wasn't until nearly a century later that the first commercial export of Colombian coffee took place, consisting of just 100 bags of beans. Who would have imagined that a few decades later, coffee consumption in the United States, France, and England would skyrocket, as would coffee production in Colombia itself? What is it about the flavor of these beans?

Colombia is an area with dozens of microclimates, making it ideally suited to coffee cultivation. Its humid climate, thousands of nutrient-rich hills and mountains, and high altitude make coffee cultivation not only easy but also widespread.

Today, Colombian beans account for almost 12% of the world's coffee supply and are valued worldwide, making Colombia one of the leading countries in the global coffee industry.

Head Roaster - Aleksander Smęt on the roasting process:

Colombia La Palmera is a unique coffee, particularly thanks to its processing. Thanks to anaerobic fermentation, the coffee acquires a very pronounced and complex acidity. When roasting this coffee, we primarily aimed to balance the acidity without concealing it. Therefore, we opted for a longer roast, which allowed for the delicate and slow development of flavors in the coffee, slow Maillard reactions, and caramelization of sugars.

 

Region: Anserma, Caldas

Cultivation height: 1450 – 2000 m above sea level

Variety: COLOMBIA, CASTILLO, BOURBON

Process: natural anaerobic

Sensory profile: berry, tropical fruit, cocoa, caramel