Our second year with this beautiful coffee from Jonny Martinez and his import business MiCafe. We've bought some exceptional coffees over the last few years from MiCafe including this special Pink Bourbon and jumped at the chance to buy it again. Jonny owns El Jaragual which is managed by his cousin Jorge Mira.

El Jaragual, spans 150 hectares located in Amalfi, Antioquia, Colombia, positioned perfectly in the northern area of the central Colombian Andes. A significant portion of El Jaragual is dedicated to forestry, leveraging Jorge's background as a forestry engineer. The farm features a blend of pine tree plantations aimed at sustainable timber production, alongside conserved areas of native forest.

Currently, they cultivate seven coffee varieties at El Jaragual, shaded by plantain trees and other native agroforestry species, ranging from traditional varieties like Castillo/Colombia to exotic types such as this Pink Bourbon and Gesha. Plans are underway to introduce new varieties this year, including Typica Mejorado and Sidra.

The coffee processing methods employed at El Jaragual are refined, involving extended fermentation phases with yeast inoculation and temperature adjustments, such as warm water rinses and cool water quenches, to enhance and stabilise the aromatic qualities developed during fermentation. This represents a thoughtful balance between traditional and modern processing techniques, in line with the techniques we've seen over the last few years from the likes of Wilton Benitez and Diego Bermudez amongst others.

The method is multi-step starting with a period of oxidisation in the cherry in drums for 24hrs. Then de-pulping and a further 24hr dry oxidation followed by a brief hot 45C washing (thermal shock). Then the 36hr wet fermentation with a specific yeast culture. Washing at 5C to ‘seal’ the fermentation, and finally 76hr controlled drying.