It is with open arms that we welcome back this Mitaca lot from one of our main producing partners, and a happy return to one of our favorite regions of Colombia: Acevedo. In the cup we find a lemon candy acidity, a pastry-like sweetness with a deep berry complexity.
Caturra, Colombia, Castillo
Acevedo, Huila
1,700 masl
Mitaca; September - October, 2020
Hand picked at peak ripeness. Floated to further remove defects and depulped on the day of harvest. Dry fermented for 35 hours. Dried on raised beds for 30 days.
In the six years we have been fortunate to work with Jhon Wilson Poveda we have seen his thoughtful dedication tremendously increase the quality of his coffees as he has studied and implemented better picking and processing practices. He is now picking his hybrid varieties darker in color, which is an important indicator of sugar development, and he is fermenting his harvests slightly longer, resulting in brighter, sweeter, more complex cups with less of the vegetal flavors that were present only a few years ago. Since the inception of the Acevedo Cup—the annual coffee producer competition in his region—Jhon has consistently placed in the top ten. Jhon is now our main producing partner in Acevedo, Huila, and we are honored to continue supporting him as an exemplary producer.
This is a field blend of the three most commonly grown varieties in Colombia: Castillo, Variety Colombia, and Caturra. Both Castillo and V. Colombia are Catimor hybrids, which give them high disease resistance. Caturra, on the other hand, is a natural mutation of Bourbon, and is very susceptible to disease.
In Colombia there are two coffee harvest cycles each year: the main harvest, and a second—generally, but not always, smaller—second harvest called the Mitaca. Given the vast seasonal differences in microclimate, these harvests vary widely even within the same region. Because seasonality is an important part of our approach to coffee, we will begin differentiating these harvests for greater traceability and transparency.
The cost of getting a coffee from cherry to beverage varies enormously depending on its place of origin and the location of its consumption. The inclusion of price transparency is a starting point to inform broader conversation around the true costs of production and the sustainability of specialty coffee as a whole.