Laboyano is a cool blend of tiny, high-scoring lots that were too small to separate and export independently. Each constituent lot is the highest-quality cherry from each of a group of producers in the valley of Laboyano. In the cup, we find a caramel-like sweetness, tangerine, and raspberry.
Pink Bourbon, Caturra, Castillo, V. Colombia
Huila
1,800 - 1,900 masl
July, 2023
Hand-picked at peak ripeness. Floated to further remove defects. Depulped. Dry-fermented for 24 hours. Washed. Dried on raised beds for 16 days.
Lot separation and how lots are 'built' is often a mystery that isn't talked about outside of conversations between green buyers and exporters around cupping tables. We almost exclusively buy single-producer lots that are large enough to mill and export practically. These can be extremely small––as small at times as 25kgs. However, we also cup through hundreds of even smaller lots and often don't know what to do with them when they are extremely good. Most of the time, they will be blended into larger, lower-quality regional blends. To create this lot, our exporting partners at Coffee Quest decided to separate all of the highest-scoring deliveries and blend them to see what a top-shelf regional blend would be like. As it turns out, quite good!
This is a field blend of four of the most commonly grown varieties in Colombia: Castillo, V. Colombia, Caturra, and Pink Bourbon. 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. Pink Bourbon has been identified genetically as an Ethiopian Landrace, but unfortunately, we cannot be any more specific as to its origins until there is a larger genetic database.
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.