This is our second year working with Faiber’s coffee. He is an exceptionally talented young producer growing an impressive array of varieties. In the cup we find a fruit-forward profile with excellent sweetness and acidity, and notes of strawberry jam, Key lime, and blackberry.
Yellow V. Colombia, Tabi, Pink Bourbon
El Tabor, San Agustín, Huila
1,800 masl
December, 2022
Hand-picked in three-week cycles to ensure peak ripeness. Floated to further remove defects. De-pulped on the day of harvest. Dry fermented for 36 hours. Washed and rinsed in fresh water four times. Dried on raised beds for ~25 days until moisture content reaches ~10.5%.
ABOUT FAIBER CORDOBA
Faiber is one of the growers that Esnaider Ortega and the Monkaaba project were the most excited to begin working with. Faiber grows a wide selection of very cool varieties, including Gesha, Tabi, Yellow Caturra, Typica, and Pink Bourbon. Most of these lots are very new, and volumes are extremely small, so lot separation hasn't been possible. However, we hope by the next main harvest we will see enough of an increase in yield to allow for further separations.
ABOUT PINK BOURBON
Pink Bourbon is a variety known for the complexity of its acidity and fruit characteristics. The physical look of the seeds and plant, along with its rather distinct flavor profile, point towards it being some sort of Ethiopian Landrace variety. However, to our knowledge Pink Bourbon has not yet been genetically tested, so we cannot say with certainty what exactly it is. Working with our partners at World Coffee Research we hope to have this variety tested in the near future.
ABOUT TABI
Tabi is a newer hybrid to the scene, having been developed in 2002. It is a cross between Bourbon, Typica, and Timor Hybrid. Tabi was developed as a part of the research to develop a variety that is disease resistant while maintaining good cup quality. Over the last few years this has become our favorite hybrid variety because it provides producers with an excellent disease-resistant choice while also having a very high cup quality potential.
ABOUT VARIETY COLOMBIA
Variety Colombia (V. Colombia) is the result of successful hybridization of Caturra with the Timor Hybrid. Developed over five generations by Cenicafé between 1968 and 1982, V. Colombia is high-yielding, and has excellent resistance to disease. This combination of traits makes V. Colombia a very popular variety in Colombia.
ABOUT MONKAABA
Monkaaba is a group of producers who have been selling their coffee to the specialty market for many years. They have collectively decided that they would like to be more autonomous in their coffee production, and have more involvement in its marketing and sales. Monkaaba is committed to helping producers throughout Huila by teaching them how to cup their own coffees and how and why specific coffees are either accepted or rejected by the specialty market. This group is currently working with growers of all levels of experience in San Agustín and Tarqui to cup and discuss in depth the challenges they are facing on the way to their goals and dreams. The early results of this program have been very successful.
Pricing Details
Farm Gate (Local; Green)
3.1MM COP/Carga
Farm Gate (USD; Green)
~$6.78/KG
FOB
$8.30/KG
FOT
$13.10/KG
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.