So the last time I was in Colombia, we were asking lots of questions as usual. What makes the coffee taste the way it does? What if we did things differently? What if we planted a different varietal of tree? What if we fermented the coffee instead of running it through a desmucilaginadora? What happens if we ferment it for 12 hours or 24 hours or 36 hours? How does it change the flavor? What if we put it in refrigerated tanks and introduced lager yeast? Or what if we fermented it with Trappist yeast? Yum. How much different does it taste if we dry the parchment in the sun as opposed to using a static dryer? And what if we process the coffee using pulped natural method or dry processing instead of wet? Interesting.
Finally, at Ariel's farm, El Boton, we found a place where we could experiment with a couple of these questions. We asked Ariel a lot of these questions. I told him what I have learned in my travels to other origins and I described coffee from other countries. The people in Colombia only get to drink Colombian coffee, so they don't know what it's like to taste coffees from exotic locales around the world. We are fortunate in this way. Ariel is a curious guy with the means to play, so he agreed to do these experiments with small lots. He divided a lot into four batches. One he fermented 24 hours. One he fermented 36 hours. Cristina said these two were not very good, and we didn't get samples of them. The third part he processed using the pulped natural method. That means he stripped the skins off the cherries and dried the beans with the parchment and mucilage still intact. The fourth he dried the cherries whole. Ariel built raised beds to dry the coffee on for these last two methods. These are the two samples I received from Cristina last week.
I roasted them yesterday (along with 20 other samples). I waited until I really had the sample roaster as dialed in as I was going to get it, and then I roasted these Colombians. There was only enough for one roast, so one shot and I had to get it right. I was more than slightly concerned because everything was going fine with all the other coffees, but when I was roasting the Natural it suddenly seemed to be burning. For no reason. It hadn't even hit second crack. But I could see (by drawing samples) that the outsides were beginning to get shiny. Not good. So I dropped it. I thought I had ruined it, for sure. The Honey (pulped natural) roasted just fine.
Today I cupped them on a table with 6 other coffees, including Ariel's regular coffee (which is run through a desmucilaginadora). By the way, all of the coffees from El Boton are maragogipe, which means they are larger beans. Usually these coffees are a bit flatter than other types, but I had cupped Ariel's maragogipe a couple weeks ago and found it to be very interesting. It had a nice acidity, chocolate and nut flavors, and some dark fruits or grape in the nose.
As soon as I ground the Boton Natural, my nose lit up. The fruits were jumping off that coffee like crazy. I started to get excited. When I took my first sip... well, it was an amazing experience. It was like a great natural Harrar or a really complex natural Sidamo. Just freaking amazing coffee. The pulped natural was pretty good, but nothing like the natural.
Now I have more questions. The processing method dramatically changed the taste of that ONE LOT of coffee. Is it repeatable? We'll see. Cristina is cupping another batch tomorrow in her office in Medellin and is going to call me on skype afterward. Would coffee of a different varietal (besides maragogipe) taste the same, just as good, not as good? How much does terroir actually affect the taste of coffee? The soil, climate, elevation, and agricultural methods affect the taste, but compared to processing, how much?
This thing has big, juicy fruit fragrances and a bit of vanilla in the aroma. Very fruity taste that was a lot like artificial, intense cherry you find in flavored gum or soda. Lots of other tastes muddied the waters and added insane amounts of complexity, but I haven't even gotten that far yet. I'm still reeling from the sweetness on my palate.
I know Cristina is amazed and excited. Ariel is very excited as well. We have no idea how we could get these coffees exported to the US because the Federation has such a tight grip on exports, there's no way they would let this go through if they sampled it.
My thoughts run much deeper. What if...
What if this is the thing that makes Concordia famous? Could it be that we've discovered something about Colombian coffee that could make it a highly sought-after coffee destination? Could this replace Ethiopian coffees on the market, since that origin is so wrought with problems? I'm sure Cristina is thinking the same thing. This could be huge. I'm wondering what Alfredo's coffee (San Rafael) would taste like if we processed it exactly the same way. What if, somehow, Cristina were to find a way to change the rules of the Federation, so that they would let her export this coffee? Or maybe she could find a different way to send it to the US. I'm telling you, this is the beginning of something REALLY BIG.
When you taste it, you'll understand.
3 comments:
Brian, can you explain more about the Columbia coffee federation and how the process of buying coffee from Columbia works? Your description of the Boton Natural has my mouth watering, I hope you and Cristina can figure out a way to export some.
Also, in reference to Cristina on skype, what type/speed of Internet connection do they have available there? I assumed that the area would be too impoverished to have anything like that, that fact that they do have at least some Internet access is great!
- Mike
wow! I hope you can figure out how to get it here, i want to try this!!! you could have something that no one else has ever experienced!
The Colombian Coffee Federation is the government over all coffee in Colombia. It was originally created to standardize coffee and market it so they could compete against Brazil on the world market. They still perform the same job, competing for space in Folgers cans against Brazil and Vietnam. They inspect all coffee that is exported because they want to make sure it fits their standard. They don't acknowledge other markets outside the commodity market, so anything that might be of a quality or type to interest small, specialty roasters (which would fall outside the "standard" designation), is subject to be rejected for export. One of the main things that interests us that cuts against the grain of the federation is "fermentation." For us, fermentation is an exciting term, an exciting process where the flavors of coffee can be unlocked. But to the Federation, fermentation is the same as spoiling. If something tastes "fermented" to them, it is rejected. So even though I can buy any coffee I want from Cristina, if she can't export it I can't have it. Cristina is in the fortunate position of being a licensed exporter in Colombia and a licensed importer in the U.S. That makes things a lot easier.
As far as internet, Cristina lives in Medellin. It's a cosmopolitan city that you would compare to any large (2.2 million people) city in the U.S. She's also the daughter of the largest coffee producer in Colombia. That helps.
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