Finca El Triunfo - The Notes
At Bluebarn we keep things pretty relaxed and upbeat; today we had Gus Dapperton playing on the sound system. The melodic beats pumping over our cupping table was the perfect mood setter for the outstanding cupping that followed.
We'd tried many different processes in our days of roasting coffee here in Wakefield just outside Ottawa. Couple naturals from Ethiopia that we've continued to import over the years, and a couple producers in Guatemala trying new things always kept us on our roasting toes so to speak. This year we had our eye's set on the funk, and with an upcoming trip to Colombia we decided to do it all in one go.
We ended up selecting a lot from the Tolima region, just south of Bogota. It's known for high altitudes and lots of bespoke plantations, our favorite.
We had connected with an individual who directed us to Enciso Franco and his family run farm. We decided to buy it on a whim, and just roll the dice on it.
We narrowed it down to 2 profiles we felt like were a comfortable medium between something we didn't know we liked and something we definitely had love for. Little stretch of a roasting curve here, timed the first crack just right and bingo, we;'re dialed in.
Cup 1 : Long Curve: Accelerate in. Feather the brakes out.
Fantastic aromatic experience freshly roasted. Hints of a blueberry pie with a hint of something we can only describe as a beverage that only your great grandfather knows how to brew. Not a ton of spiced notes or chocolates, but we're OK with that coming from a macerated coffee.
QA'd with a hario v60 | Ek43 @ 14 | 29g dry | 94 degree h20
With that blueberry pie note blasting you in the face before you take it sip, its definitely difficult to think about any other note for the first minute of so. A defiant little cup that seams to showcase its nuances rapidly; from blueberry pie, to rhubarb pie to a faint finish note of chocolate this coffee tastes like the desert course at thanksgiving. We're perfectly satisfied with this one.
Cup 2 : Country-side Drive: Nothing risky. Just science.
Another wildly different aromatic experience. This one gave us a bit more earth than we were hoping for, but we're pretty sure we nailed down why. With anything fermented, you never know how sugars, enzymes and compounds are going to react during the Maillard Reaction stage. We're hoping to bring the roasts closer to this profile, while keeping an eye on the aromatics post roast.
QA'd with a hario v60 | Ek43 @ 14 | 29g dry | 94 degree h20
Another round of cakes, pies, and tons of fruits. Although this bad-boy had a little more bite than we were looking to gather. It gave more of an alcoholic snap on the initial tastings that were muted over the course of this cup cooling down. It brought way more of the wine notes we've been hearing about when it comes to complex fermentation practices. This coffee is a science, we're sure glad we didnt mess it up for you Enciso!
Letting these puppies cool, you start to see the incredible complexities of Carbonically Macerated coffee. They give you a little hint of mulled wine, Porto, maybe even a little Amaretto.
We decided to go with Cup 1
As always freshly roasted in Wakefield by Bluebarn Coffee Roasters.